Kasia Niewiadoma - Feminin Magazine

The first international magazine on women’s cycling
English edition #1 - 2015
femininmagazine.com
Scotti Lechuga
Life & cycling
Mountainbiking
in beautiful Norway
Partners in Cycling
Lucy Garner & Lars van der Haar
Days of our lives
The soigneur
Preview
Giro Rosa 2015
Sleep more
for better results
Kasia Niewiadoma
Young, Polish and talented
Free edition
Contents
Feminin
Kasia Niewiadoma
This professional cyclist
combines her own company with cycling and motherhood. We will have a look
behind the scenes.
Hi there! We are Feminin Magazine. Are we new? Yes and
no. We started Feminin Magazine back in 2013 because
we believe in women’s cycling, and there wasn’t a single
publisher who was willing to take a chance on producing
a magazine focused only on women’s cycling. Sure, there
were some pages about a female rider or women’s team
in a men’s cycling-focused magazine, but for some reason
they don’t want to write more about the women who trade
in their regular lives for a life in sport and train like beasts
trying to reach the highest platform on a race podium. ...so
we did.
6
She’s young and ambitious.
Her team loves her fast hill-climbing
legs – and she loves her heels and
make-up. An interview with Kasia
Niewadoma.
Scotti Lechuga
Prologue
This journey started with a handful of contributors and
photographers working from our base in Holland. We wrote
in Dutch and mainly focused on Dutch and Belgian riders.
We got a lot of great reviews and as word of the magazine
has traveled, the feedback has been that it’s time to switch
to English because it’s a shame that people who follow
these women on wheels are not able to read about them
in magazines like other stars of the cycling world. With that,
our mental wheels really got turning.
24
So, after a year of building the magazine, we’ve gone international! In your hands is the first ever magazine in English with
a total focus on women’s cycling. I hope you are as proud
as we are that we came this far. Now it is up to you to help
this grow, so that we can keep on giving more and more
exposure for women’s cycling.
40
Commentary on the Giro Rosa stages by Koos Moerenhout, teamleader of Rabobank-Liv. Who’s poised
to win which stage, and who will
eventually win the pink jersey?
Partners in Cycling
for better or worse
Cycling couples: in this edition we
will get to know Lucy Garner and
her partner Lars van der Haar.
46
Days of our lives:
the soigneur
70
Gerard Spierings, soigneur of
Rabobank-Liv, gives us a behindthe-scenes look of what it is like to
be the soigneur of a UCI womens’
cycling team.
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Find us on Twitter and Facebook or visit our website,
femininmagazine.com.
Also inside this first international issue, you’ll find articles on
Luxembourg riders Christine Majerus and Chantal Hoffman,
the story of US cyclist Scotti Lechuga, and British star Dame
Sarah Storey. We’ve also introduced a new item, Partners in
Cycling, which premiers with rider-couple Lucy Garner and
Lars van der Haar. In every issue you’ll find a photo diary
and columns like Ask her Anything, where we feature pro
answers – this edition from Canadian champion Leah Kirchmann, and Parkhotel Valkenburg’s
Rozanne Slik giving another set
of MTB tips and tricks.
We hope you enjoy the magazine. If you do, share it with
your friends and other fans of
women’s cycling!
Niels Goudriaan
Editor in Chief
Niels
and...
Giro Rosa 2015
In this edition, we present an extensive preview of the Giro
Rosa (as we did last year) and throughout the season, you’ll
find our signature coverage of international races, like the
Friends Life Women’s Tour, and of course, all disciplines of
the World Championships.
Photo diary - travelling with your bike
12
Sarah Storey - swimmer cyclist and a dame
16
Column Jeanine Laudy
20
Feminin’s wannahaves
21
Mountainbiking in Norway
30
Ask her anything: Leah Kirchmann
34
Smooth legs (and more) - laser treatment
36
Column Roxane Knetemann
51
MTB tips & tricks from Rozanne Slik
52
Hoffmann & Majerus Queens of Luxembourg
56
Better sleep = better cycling
60
Column Loes Gunnewijk
63
Feminin explores Fi’zi:k saddles
64
Then and now - Catherine Marsal
68
Feminin visits: Lensworld-Zannata
76
Feminin medical: Wrist complaints
78
Race calendar July - August 2015
80
Colofon
82
Photography Sean Robinson
Table of
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Young, Polish and a little crazy:
interview
Kasia Niewiadoma
At just 20 years old, Kasia Niewiadoma is the new rising star of women’s cycling
in Poland. After placing sixth in the Strade Bianche, fifth in the Fleche Wallonne,
and third in the Boels Rental Hills Classic, she finally broke through to the top
by winning the multi-day race Euskal Emakumeen Bira and winning the silver
medal at the first ever European Games road race. It’s time to get to know this
young upcoming Polish talent better.
Kasia grew up with her family in the
south of Poland, in Zakapone, near
the Slovakian border. Sports weren’t a
family focus. Her older brother and sister
preferred having fun with friends and
going to parties. Her dad rode his bike
for an occasional race, but mostly for fun.
Kasia, though, was bitten by the cycling
bug early. “When I was in primary school,
I always took part in sports. My dad
decided to enter a cycling race where
he could bring along a son or a daughter. He picked me. I actually didn’t like
the race at first…but I won. Afterward,
people around me congratulated me
and wanted to take pictures with me. I
liked that part so much – and after that, I
started cycling.”
Despite this early taste of success, cycling
didn’t immediately become Kasia’s first
priority. She did it mainly as an after
school activity. “I didn’t train seriously, and
I was still unsure if I wanted to become
a professional cyclist.” Nonetheless, in
2011, Poland selected her to participate
in the Juniors’ time trial and road race
for the European Championships. She finished in the top ten in both races. Later
that year, she joined the Polish road race
team at the World Championships and
started to realize she wanted to become
a professional cyclist. “I had a chance
to experience the professional cyclist
lifestyle, with so many other cyclists close
to me. The training, the food, and everything around inspired me. After that, I
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knew I wanted to become a professional
cyclist.” She started to follow women’s
cycling. “I was looking for results. I saw
that Marianne Vos was the best cyclist at
that moment, so I started to follow her
website and social media. I looked up to
her.”
Together in the Netherlands
When Rabobank Liv team called her
at the end of the 2013 season, she was
in shock. “The question was if I wanted
to race for them in the Holland Ladies’
Tour. My first instinct was doubt. I kept
asking myself why they selected me… I
was a nobody in the peloton. But I went
anyway.” It helped that her boyfriend
Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz, who was
then riding for WV de Jonge Renner,
was already living in the Netherlands.
“I stayed with him a while before the
HLT, and we trained a bit together. He
helped me a lot during that time.” Kasia
is proud of her boyfriend Przemyslaw,
who now rides for AWT-Greenway,
the younger team of Etixx-Quickstep.
“During the season, we can’t see each
other that often because we each have
our own race schedules. So, we end up
calling each other, scheduling a Skype
call, or chatting on Facebook.” In the off
season, though, they do get to spend a
lot of time together. “We will be going to
training camp together. It’s always nice to
have each other as motivation.”
Being committed to both a relationship
and a sport is a tricky balancing act.
“Sometimes it is difficult because we
don’t see each other often, but we know
our relationship is strong, so we can
handle it.” They both want to be better
in their sport. “Does one of us need to
stop in order to support the other? No
of course not! We learn from each other
and we are each other’s support!”
Best young-rider
Despite her initial doubts and sacrifices,
riding with Rabobank-Liv turned out to
be a great launching pad. After winning
the Best Young Rider Overall of the
Ladies Tour, she signed a contract for
Rabobank-Liv for the next season. “I quit
my mathematics studies and decided I
would do everything for cycling. It wasn’t
easy, though. In the beginning of the year,
I was not myself. During the training
stages, everything went wrong. I was too
stressed. I wanted to do everything well,
but that didn’t happen.” For example,
when Arthur van Dongen picked her
up, “I could not speak English anymore,
I was really nervous. Only once I was in
a room with Sabrina Stultiens did I calm
down a bit. I could chat easily with her.”
Her family and boyfriend encouraged
her through the rough patch. “They told
me I had to be confident and strong, so
I started having conversations with my
teammates about nerves and emotions.
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Normally, I’m social, not shy. These talks
really helped, and since then, the team
feels like home to me.”
2014 was Kasia’s first complete season
for the team. She rode Fleche Wallonne
(where teammate Pauline FerrandPrevot won) and the Giro Rosa. She also
rode for Poland at the World Championships in Ponferrada. “It was my second
year and I still had a lot to learn.” Kasia
became a stronger and smarter rider,
thanks to being around fellow cyclists like
Marianne Vos, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot,
Annemiek van Vleuten and Anna van der
Breggen. That season taught her that “we
do anything for each other in the team. It
does not matter who wins. It feels like a
victory to us all.”
Trust of the team
Even though she has showed she can
ride with the best riders of the world,
the World Championships in Ponferrada didn’t go as planned. “I crashed in
the first big downhill. My shifter broke
and I could not ride my bike anymore.
My friend gave me her bike, but she is
1 meter 76 and I only am 1 meter 65!
The Shimano car came through and gave
me a different bike. I was already three
minutes behind, but I made it back to the
peloton three laps before the finish. The
time to recover was short, though, be-
cause Emma Johansson attacked. I tried
following the first five girls but it didn’t
work out. I found some others and was
able to make it to the front group again,
one kilometer before the finish. I was so
tired and I finished 11th.” She still regrets
the crash because she lost a lot of time.
“Yes, if the crash didn’t happen, I might
have been able to follow the first five. I
could have helped Marianne to win the
race. Then again, I signed a contract; if I
race in the colors of Rabobank-Liv, I race
with the team. But if I race in the colors
of Poland, I race with Poland.”
interview
I love high heels,
dresses and makeup
Kasia is proud to be Polish. “Poland is a
beautiful country with great mountains
and a lot of nature.” She notes that
women’s cycling isn’t only growing in
the peloton, but across Poland. “Each
year cycling grows in Poland. I see a lot
more women cyclists.” The ones who do
cycle in Poland all know Kasia. “They all
come with questions, like, ‘How is it to
be a professional cyclist?’ I like it. When
I am back in Poland, I try to ride with
them and answer all their questions.”
Beyond her fans, the Cycling Union of
Poland also supports Kasia in her
>>
Photography - Text -
“The team thinks I can achieve a lot and
believes in me. That’s good – they support me, and that builds my confidence.
They’re happy with every small result.”
The Giro Rosa of 2014 was Kasia’s biggest learning moment. “The first stage
after the prologue was really hard for
me. The race was fast. I did not drink
and eat enough. I had cramps and was
done. My swanny saw me struggling, and
after the race we had a talk about it. I
was living day-to-day, and after ten days
of racing, I thought I didn’t actually feel
too bad.” Kasia finished 11th overall. Her
teammate Marianne Vos won, and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Anna van der
Breggen took the other places on the
podium. “I think the Giro Rosa suits me.
The long climbs, the hard work, although
I need to improve a lot in the time trial
and riding on flat roads to ever win this
stage race.”
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interview
Become jersey sponsor and
support a charity fund
Rabo Liv Team starts a special campaign. During Boels Rental Holland Ladies Tour any fan
can become a jersey sponsor of our cycling team. The money we collect will benefit Jeugdsportfonds: a Dutch charity foundation. Registration is open until July 13th.
Rabo Liv Team starts a special campaign. During Boels
Rental Holland Ladies Tour
any fan can become a jersey
sponsor of our cycling team.
The money raised is for the
Jeugdsportfonds: a Dutch charity foundation which makes
sport accessible for all children. Anyone, including people from abroad (Europe), can
join the crowd funding event.
Registration is open until July
13th.
Photography Niels Goudriaan, Anton Vos (p.8) Text Karen Elzing
cycling career. “When I received the Polish kid for the European
Games, it turned out to be a whole box, for just one race!”
Finishing well at the European Games road race was Kasia’s
focus as a way of giving back to her country and the Cycling
Union. A good race earned her a silver medal, behind gold medalist Alena Amialiusik of Belarus. “Gold would have been better,
but I’m very happy with my silver medal. I dedicate it to the
people of the Cycling Union, who have supported my training
throughout the year and have given me wonderful guidance
throughout this event.”
There are plenty of races awaiting Kasia this season, and she is
looking forward to them. She will definitely go to the Giro Rosa
in July, and the road race World Championships in Richmond is
on the schedule. “The Giro Rosa is special because everyone
is having a hard time and each day you have to survive again.
You become closer and closer to your teammates. The crowd
and the Italian scenery complete the picture.” She does not
know yet what to expect of the World Championships. “I’ve
only checked the course online, but I saw there are some short
steep climbs in the course. After a few laps, I’m sure I’ll feel it in
my legs.”
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Winning races, not the captain
With some great results under her belt at just 20 years old,
Kasia’s future has a lot of promise and will require some serious
determination. “I would like to win a World Cup in the future.
I feel good at Rabobank-Liv and would like to do it with them.
Everything is well organized for our team - I don’t have to
worry about booking a flight or a hotel room - the team covers
everything. I understand that other women’s cycling teams
aren’t as well organized as Rabobank-Liv. I also don’t need to
be the captain of the team in order to win. As soon as you are
riding strong, you will get an opportunity to win a race.”
Along with a well-oiled machine of a team, Kasia knows that
her family will always support her. She wants to make them
proud and show them what she can do, so in a few years she
has no regrets. “My brother just finished university and started
working at my dad’s roofing company. My sister just got married this past May, and I was so glad I could be there. I cried at
the wedding – just me and the old people, crying like babies.
Sometimes I wish I was a little less emotional…” Her family and
friends mean a lot to her, and as soon as she’s home in Poland,
it’s time to catch up. “I think every cyclist struggles with being
away from home and missing family and friends. The moments
when you are at home are very special.” Besides being the
family homestead, it doesn’t hurt that Zakapone is a beautiful
place for off road and road cycling – and Kasia recommends the
shopping, too: “I go shopping a lot. I love high heels, dresses, and
makeup. After all the cycling, it does feel good to look like a real
lady!” F
Our jersey will be adapted
for just one race: Boels Rental
Holland Ladies Tour (September 1st – September 6th, The
Netherlands). According to
La Brigade du Style our jersey
is already the most beautiful
one in women’s peloton, but
with your name on it (and a
lot of other fans) it could be
even more beautiful. It’s only
permitted to put the name of
a person on it, no company
names.
There are two options. For 99
euro your name will be on the
jersey as well as the website
of Rabo Liv Team. You will
receive a copy of the special
jersey (there are women’s and
men’s editions). We also offer
an exclusive opportunity: for
169 euro we deliver the same
as previous but you are also
For more information go to:
invited to join the final day of
Boels Rental Holland Ladies
Tour (finish on the Cauberg).
There will be a meet & greet
with our team.
Support youth
The money we collect will benefit Jeugdsportfonds. Marianne Vos and Rabo Liv Team
have been associated with
this Dutch charity foundation
since last season. The Jeugdsportfonds makes sport accessible for children from families who aren’t able to join a
sport due to a lack of money.
Unfortunately a lot of children in the Netherlands are not
able to join a club these days.
“I think it’s very important
that all children are able to
exercise in sport as this helps
to improve the development
and health of our children.
With this campaign I hope to
mobilize as many fans of the
Rabo Liv Team as possible.
Everybody can contribute to
a very important goal. We offer the opportunity to be seen
on our jersey in the biggest
Dutch stage race for women”,
says Marianne Vos, ambassador of Jeugdsportfonds.
http://www.raboliv.com/page/becomesponsor
Photo diary
Travelling with your bike
Summer is coming and therefore time to plan
your holiday! No matter where you want to go
in the world, travelling with your bike can be
a pain if you don’t know how to do it properly.
April Marshke of Specialized will provide you
with tips & tricks for travelling with your best
friend in the world – your bike.
Packing preparation
Be sure to bring a few extra spare tubes and tires
with you as well as a tool and pump. Remember, no
CO2 cartridges on the airplane. It is always good to
invest in a GPS unit if you are travelling to help you
navigate new roads. A small notebook to write about
your favorite spots along the way will keep you in the
moment and away from the distractions that can
come from your phone.
Quick introduction:
April Marshke, “Women’s Business Manager”
at Specialized Bicycle Components
Choosing your route
Finding out where you want to ride can be a
struggle. Asking local bike shops is a great way
to know which roads to take in a foreign place,
but sometimes language can be an issue. The
new “Local” function on Strava is a great way to
see some of the most popular local routes. You can
even download the files onto your computer and
upload it to a GPS device for easy navigation on
the road. www.strava.com/local for details.
FEMININMAGAZINE
Each bag system has a different method used but don’t worry,
there are several YouTube videos available to help you out. It is
always a good idea to ask help from your bike shop the first time
you use the bag. They can show you some helpful tips and tricks
to keep your bike protected during the journey.
WARNING: you will have to
Packing your bike
put your bike back together.
Remember to mark your seat
post height and stem position. You will also need to pack the
bike on your way home, so take notes from whoever is helping
you. Even make a video if you need to and store it on your
phone, just in case you forget.
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography - Text -
April Marsh
ke© Martijn van Egmond
Photo
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Likely you’ve been training hard to get ready for your
trip. Before taking your bike to the local shop for a tune up
and safety check you will need to give it a good cleaning.
This also makes it easier when packing and unpacking
in your travel accommodation. Despite what most people
think, mild dish soap and water is perfectly acceptable
if you don’t have proper bike wash. After cleaning don’t
forget to lube the chain to make sure that I run smoothing
throughout the trip.
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Flying
Your bike bag is a very good way to pack efficiently
for your trip. All bike related equipment and supplies
can easily be kept in with your bike providing you
pack them each safely. Most airlines charge a fee for
the travel of a bicycle. The usual weight limit ranges
from 20-23kilos and fees range from €50 - €250.
It is best to travel light in order to avoid additional
checked baggage fees.
And now it is time to enjoy the holiday
and explore the hills and beaches along the
way. Perhaps try to take it a bit slower than
normal and look around. Remember, it’s
an adventure!
Enjoy enjoy enjoy!!
Luggage
It is never a bad idea to stop along the way and
enjoy a local brew. If a café looks busy and you’re
thirsty or hungry, it is probably a good idea to stop.
You never know what you will find along the way
or what stories you will hear.
Dress to impress
On the flight
Since we will be riding all week, it is very important
to begin the nutrition process early. Keeping a bottle
with you for water throughout the flight is a great
reminder.
Local brew
First, take a selfie. The best part of our digital world
is that you can almost endless space for photos.
Remember there is always time to stop and take a
selfie. You won’t regret the photos that you took along
the way, but you might regret not taking more.
Selfie time!
In the air
No matter if you or on a beach or a bike for
holiday, it is a time for tanning. The lines are
different but the purpose is the same. Be sure to mind where your shorts and sleeves are each
day to achieve that pro look like the girls of
Boels-Dolmans (or any other pro team).
Once you’ve landed and gotten to your accommodation,
begin the process of putting your bike back together and
making sure you haven’t forgotten anything. Never leave
it to the last minute. It is best to take a short spin to smell the
flowers to make sure everything is running smoothly before
you start on your longer ride.
first short trip
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Tan lines
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography provided
- Text by
- April Marshke Text April Marshke
Checking the forecast will help you identify exactly what
is needed but nothing is better than laying it all out and
visualizing each day. If there is an opportunity to visit
laundry facilities, this is a great way to keep your packing
list short and baggage light. Merino wool is a great fabric
choice that is both breathable and durable in many different
types of weather.
15
portret
Swimmer, Cyclist, and a Dame
Sarah Storey
Dame Sarah Joanne Storey, DBE (born Bailey) is
one of the most inspiring athletes of the moment.
The 37 year old Paralympian (and 20-time World
Champion) competes in abled body competitions.
an athlete. “Although I was a good
swimmer, I didn’t really care which
sport it was that I could represent my
country in. I loved all the sports I was
doing at school.” The multitalented
athlete went on to represent her
county at national level competitions
in athletics, table-tennis, biathlon, and
cross-country. “All of these sports
were in able-bodied fields, as I didn’t
really know much about the Paralympics back then.”
Paralympic debut at 14
“My coach at that time was a former
Deaflympic swimmer. He convinced
me that I could be good enough to
participate at the Paralympic Games.”
Getting on the National Paralympic
Swimming Team was the first step.
“Every time I swam a personal best
time, I wrote the coordinator for the
North West of England a letter.
It took me eighteen months of writing letters to be noticed.” Regional
and National championships did not
stand in the way of her dream. At the
age of fourteen, (younger than her
idol, Hardcastle), Sarah participated
at the 1992 Paralympic Games in
Barcelona. There she became Britain’s
youngest individual gold medallist. “I
took almost 4 seconds off the 100m
backstroke world record and became
the first go under 2 minutes and
40 seconds for the 200m individual
medley. Winning on my international
debut was everything I had dreamed
about.” She left Spain with two
gold, two silver (400m freestyle and
4×100m freestyle), and one bronze
medal (100m freestyle). But Barcelona was just the first step on the
ladder for the ambitious youngster.
“I did not want to be one of those
athletes that was around for only one
or two Games.
Photography - Text -
Dame Sarah doesn’t know anything
other than playing sports all her life.
“My parents had me playing in the
garden from as soon as I could stand
up,” she begins her story. “We have
always been a very sporty family with my sister, brother, and I all
playing cricket, football, and racquet
sports from a very early age. It wasn’t
that our parents were pushy in any
way – quite the opposite – they just
wanted us all to enjoy a fit and active
lifestyle.” At the age of four, she was
introduced to swimming. “My school
had a swimming club every Saturday
afternoon and all the kids would go
there to learn to swim. Everyone had
the opportunity to progress through
the different distance badges, to
lifesaving and survival badges.” Seeing
15 year old Sarah Hardcastle winning
medals at the 1984 Olympic Games
in Los Angeles made the then 6 year
old Sarah realize she wanted to be
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portret
I thought riding a bike was all about the legs,
but I was quite wrong! The upper body contribution
is much greater than I first thought.
From the pool to the bike
“My switch to cycling was something
of an accident,” she says laughing. “After
the Atlanta Games, I returned from a
training camp in Australia with an ear
infection. That was the start of a whole
series of ear infections, which, all-in-all
kept me out of the water for almost half
a year. I started using the bike to stay fit.
I trained at the Manchester Velodrome
and started improving as a cyclist. I even
did a couple of small races to satisfy my
love of racing. British Cycling offered
to trial me over 3 kilometers to see
whether I could meet the selection criteria for the 2005 European Championships in Alkmaar. I turned up for the trial
and rode double track discs for the first
time to record a time of 4 minutes and
3 seconds.” Her first timed ride turned
out to be just 2 seconds outside the
current world record! While competing
in Alkmaar, Sarah conquered the cycling
world by winning gold in the 500m time
trial and 3000m individual pursuit (both
track events), another gold medal in the
road race, and a silver in the time trial.
To continue cycling or return to swimming? That was the big question. “I had
always intended to get back in the pool.
UK Sport told me I had been offered
places on both the swimming and cycling
squads for 2006, so it was up to me to
decide which I was going to accept the
place with. I entered the National Track
Cycling Championships not long after
the Europeans, and rode in all the ablebodied events, finishing 7th in the 3000m
and dipping under 4 minutes for the first
time. Never in swimming had I finished
so high up in the able-bodied Nationals,
so it made me curious about how good I
could become.”
Handicap
Dame Sarah’s disability affects her left
hand and entire left arm. “My left arm
has shorter bones both above and below the elbow,” she explains. “In total, my
left arm is about 18 centimeters shorter
than my right arm.” The disadvantage in
swimming is obvious, but what about on
the bike? “I asked the very same question when I first switched from swimming,” she admits. “I thought riding a bike
was all about the legs. I was quite wrong
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and learned that the mechanics of having
both brakes on one lever and having
one hand do all the work with the gears,
as well, is quite tough. Sometimes I have
to choose between braking or changing
gear! The upper body contribution is also
greater than I first realized, as is accelerating after a corner or riding uphill. That’s
why there is a significant disadvantage
compared to the girls in the able-bodied
peloton.”
She is also one of the disabled athletes
who are trying to bring down the barriers between both types of sports.
“There are some areas where we’ve still
got huge hurdles,” she admits. “Despite
both sports being governed at UCI
level, it’s still very, very separate. Paracycling is still very much a poor cousin to
able-bodied cycling. We have no track
World Cups and we really struggle to
get World Championship dates on the
calendar. But in other areas, like the way
the outside world looks at the sport and
the media coverage, I’m just talked about
as a cyclist. But it remains to be seen if
that’s just me. It would be interesting to
ask other cyclists.”
World Hour Record
One of the most obvious attempts to
bridge the gap between both sports
was her attempt to tackle the World
Hour Record at the former Olympic
Velodrome at the Lee Valley Velopark
in London. “It was a very complicated
mission, which I could not have done
without the support of my husband, my
trainer and of course the organisers of
the Revolution Track Cycling Series.” The
dedicated athlete also improved the intensity of her training. “Late last year, we
did some sessions on the track to see
what sort of power cost the necessary
pace would be. The figures that were
coming out were very favorable. We
knew that with a good winter behind
me, I could be back in that sort of shape
within three months. I just had to say yes
to the challenge.” Along with increasing
training, Sarah’s position on the bike was
improved. “We’ve found some interesting things, like, instead of the common
thought of positioning longer and lower,
we’ve found that coming up a little bit
and going narrower is more effective.
These improvements are also going to
help doing the pursuit.” Despite being
ahead of schedule early on, she missed
out on the record of Leontien ZijlaardVan Moorsel (46.065 km) and fell
behind after 30 minutes, and dropped
further away to finish 563m adrift. “It
was definitely the hardest hour of my
life,” she said after the failed attempt. “It’s
not as far as Leontien, but to miss out to
her is no bad thing. I gave all I had and
broke the British and the Paracycling
records, so I’m really satisfied.” Will she
try another attempt in the future? “I
have absolutely no idea how Graeme
Obree did this again the next day,” she
said about the Flying Scotsman who was
unsuccessful in his first attempt to break
the World Hour Record, but succeeded
the day after. “It’s an incredibly painful
process. I hoped I had enough in me to
go over 46km, but whatever I was going
to do was going to be the absolute
best I had. I feel I couldn’t have given
any more and so I can’t be too hard on
myself. It was hard enough just to finish.”
She then added: “I don’t think I will ever
try another attempt.” F
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography Mathilde Dusol Text Harry Ruiterkamp
I always loved the hard work of swim
training and didn’t mind the tough
schedule of morning training before
school, having my breakfast in the car,
and then going straight back after lessons
were over. To me it was all part of the
job, and I have always loved training and
racing.” After a successful run in Atlanta
in 1996, she had less success in Sydney
in 2000 (two silver, 100m backstroke and
4×100m medley), and in Athens in 2004
(two silver, 100m Breaststroke and 200m
individual medley; one bronze, 100m
freestyle).
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wishlist
Beware of the
Feminin’s wishlist
nice wannahaves for more (bike)fun
woman haters
Last year, I wrote an article in this magazine about women in
Afghanistan. They are only beginning to ride bikes there and,
in order to do so, have to dress like men or to be accompanied by male cyclists who operate like security guards. These
women are harassed, have water bottles thrown at them or
are pushed off the road. Simply because they are women on
a bicycle and ‘women shouldn’t ride bicycles’.
Not only do we love to write about cycling, we also like to help you make your cycling experience even
better and more fun! We’ve rounded up our latest cycling wishlist. From fun and trendy to convenient and
innovative, they’re all aimed to make cycling even more fun (if that is even possible!), or for you to show that
you’re a cyclist even while you’re off the bike.
You would think that we are a long way from that, here in
our civilized Western world. Fortunately, the fact that women
cycle is well accepted here. But a woman on a race bike?
That’s a different matter entirely. At least, that’s what I found
out the hard way during one of my training rides in May. I
overtook an elderly man on his bicycle. Immediately, he overtook me again, screaming at me: “This isn’t the way it should
be! Women do not overtake men, bitch!” A little while later,
when he looked back at me, he noticed that I was still not
far away from him so he slowed his pace to ride next to me
and continued to verbally abuse me. In the end, he even spat
on me and hit me on the back of my head, solely because I
was a woman on a race bike.
Handmade and homemade
Cycling and coffee go well together, we all
know that. Lola Bikes & Coffee do too, so
they opened a coffee-slash-bike-slash-book
shop in The Netherlands. Being a combination shop, you can stop there during your
ride for a coffee, and are also welcome to
tinker with your bike in their work area.
They also host bike-related events which
are a great place for you to sample their
own Lola Kampala Gold brand of coffee
which was introduced in cooperation with
20
What is apparent from the reactions I get is that it’s usually
(white) men who say “Just forget about it, those guys are
just really stupid”. And that is certainly one way to respond
to it – but they have never experienced the feeling of immense injustice while being harassed simply because you are
a woman. It’s a feeling that a lot of gay and colored people
probably have felt as well. It makes you want to explode.
Why do people feel like they have the right to feel superior
to another person and then attack them for it?! I’m not just
surprised that I was the victim of abuse in this situation. I’m
shocked that there are so many people like this actually
walking around in the Netherlands. So this is my warning to
you, female cyclists: beware of these women haters – they
actually do still exist!
FEMININMAGAZINE
Jeanine
Info: lolabikesandcoffee.com
9,95 euro for a 150 gram bag
COLUMN
Photography -Lola
Text
Arthur
- Wieffering
Photography Niels Goudriaan
I do encounter strange situations on the bike weekly. Strangely enough, it is always with older male cyclists. I usually just
laugh at the situation – I mean, aren’t they just embarrassing
themselves with their actions? I recalled all the situations
I’ve ever been in, and concluded that it almost always starts
when I overtake a man with my bike. Verbal abuse is the
standard response. Sometimes, the man in question tries
to overtake me again immediately after, while performing
weird maneuvers in order to do so. They usually lose pace
quickly after that, meaning you are back at their wheel in no
time. It sometimes even creates dangerous situations when
they slow down dramatically after overtaking. What’s the
deal with them? I didn’t know there are still so many men in
the Netherlands whose egos are just too big for this world.
Confirmed women haters on a bike, who get aggravated
when they are passed by a woman, then feel like they have
the right to a verbal (or even physical) attack against them.
the Dutch Cycling Board. In addition to
their own coffee and espresso beans, they
have their own chai mix! Lola Homemade
Masala Chai consists of nine different
spices, which are all hand-picked from
the wild and are ground and composed
by Lola. Add warm milk and a little bit of
honey, and you’ve got a delicious Chai
drink which you can also enjoy at home –
a perfect way to recover from your training
ride or race.
@JeanineLaudy
FEMININMAGAZINE
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Feminin’s wishlist
Double safety with the T1 Bike Helmet
Modifywatches
Check out the Modifywatches
designed specifically to honor
Team Twenty16 Para-cycling
Track World one-two Champions Greta Neimanas and Jamie
Whitmore. The Cycling World
Champion version comes with
a soft silicone strap, and an
easily removable watch face so
that you can mix-and-match
faces and straps. There are
plenty of strap colors to choose
from – enough for every day
or outfit. The scratch-resistant
polycarbonate face features the
bold colors of the UCI Paracycling logo and comes with
straps in red, yellow, green, and
blue. Spare watch straps come
in colors like bright pink, orange,
seafoam green, and slate grey.
Whatever your style and color,
these watches are made to order and hand-assembled in San
Francisco (it’ll take about five
business days before it reaches
you, but it’s worth it!).
Double safety with the T1 Bike Helmet
Being visible on the bike is essential and possibly
live-saving. Since race bikes aren’t equipped
with any lighting, there are different solutions for
mounting lights, but you have to remember to
get them off before a race. Torch has come up
with a solution for this problem – and a really
attractive solution, we think. The T1 bike helmet
has integrated front and rear lights, so in addition
to giving you protection if you fall off the bike, it
also adds visibility when riding in the dark. The
lights are each made up of 5 USB-rechargeable
LEDs. We like that this helmet still looks nice
even when you’re not using the lights, similar to a
Giant or Giro aerohelmet. The T1 bike helmet is
available in black, red, white or coal. (The light
coverings have a neutral colour, not the colour
of the lights.) From now on, this is the perfect
training helmet, since you no longer have to
make sure to be back home before dark!
More info: torchapparel.eu
Regular price: £ 90
More info: modifywatches.com
Prices: $50 watch with strap, $15 for an additional strap
Make your bike bastard-proof
Unfortunately, you read about it more
then you want to: bicycles getting stolen.
In Belgium, 140,000 bikes are stolen each
year, and in the Netherlands the number
is more like 400,000. The Belgian company
Spotty has an answer for this problem
and developed a unique anti-theft marking
system. With a Spotty tag or sticker, or an
etching set to permanently mark your bike,
every item gets its own URL and can easily
be reported as lost or found by anyone.
(Anything you own can be tagged with an
address.) All you have to do is register your
specific sticker number on their website.
VeloTykes for the little ones
The idea is to direct anyone who has or
finds a tagged item to the website, making
it easier to relocate your bike or bikeparts
if someone nicks them. With more than
three billion people having internet access,
that feels like a world of support in trying
to locate your items. (In an ideal world,
this non-removable sticker would prevent
those bastards from even stealing it in the
first place.) You can get a Spotty sticker at
spotty.eu
We all know that Michael
Valenti makes really nice
bicycle-inspired prints under
the name ‘The Veloist’(which
you can find featured in
Feminin Magazine ed. 4 2014).
Now, he has started making
art for the little ones, too.
His VeloTykes prints feature
bikes in child story-themed
cartoons, like three flying
pigs sharing a bike, and three
Anti-theft etch
More info: Spotty.eu
Starting at € 12,50
blind mice riding a tandem
with wheels made of cheese!
They’re perfect for a baby’s
room (especially in a cycling
family), and a great way
to encourage your kids to
cycle from a very young age.
Humpty Dumpty on a bike is
our favourite, with the little
horn on the handlebars. It’s all
in the details!
More info: veloist.com/product/velotykes
Starting at: £ 45
Spotty tag sticker
Keeping female cyclists in a box
Sugar skulls and pop art: Red Bear Sports
Fancy a black or purple sugar
skull, anyone? When you’re
looking for atypical cycling
clothes, turn to Red Bear
Sports. Red Bear features
cycling and street clothes
with great graphics and pop
art themes. They’re used to
More info: redbearsports.co.uk
Price: T-shirts: £ 28 - Cycling jerseys: £ 38
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FEMININMAGAZINE
thinking outside the box, and
you can read about the inspiration behind their work and
workmanship on their blog.
You’ll know exactly where the
clothes come from and how
they’re made.
They’re finally here! Four sets of male cyclists are
already popular with collectors, and we’ve seen a few
images of female cyclists via social media… now Pro
Cycling Trumps has
introduced their
set of female pro
cyclists. You can
finally order an
entire 2015 set of
54 cards featuring
the biggest names
in women’s pro
cycling.
Marianne Vos, Pauline FerrandPrevot, Lizze Armitstead, and
Emma Johansson are included,
as are Anna van der Breggen,
Trixi Worrack, Laura Trott,
Evelyn Stevens, Jolien d’Hoore,
and many more. It’s a lovely
set of cards and a definite
must-have if you’re a follower
of women’s cycling. No news
yet on badges being introduced, but for now we’ll enjoy
this magnificent set of cards.
More info: procyclingtrumps.bigcartel.com
£ 8 for the set
FEMININMAGAZINE
23
Life and Cycling
portret
Scotti Lechuga
Scotti Lechuga rides for United Healthcare Pro cycling in the
United States. Most people will know her by her maiden name,
Wilborne. Besides being a professional cyclist, she is also co-owner
of a business and the mother of two boys - three roles that she is
successfully managing in one lifetime. This is her story.
About a year and half earlier, I’d met the
love of my life and knew it the moment
I went on my first bike ride with him. I
had tracked down Ernie Lechuga, the
only pro cyclist I knew, to ask him for
help with training. I asked for way more
than that, actually. I told him I wanted to
turn professional in cycling and go to the
Olympics one day. He wasn’t expecting
that, as I was completely new to road cycling at age 26. I didn’t even own a road
bike at the time - I was riding my dad’s
1986 Schwinn 10-speed with down tube
shifters. I’d gotten dropped on my first
group ride but was determined to figure
out how cycling worked. He agreed to
coach me with one warning given: “Are
you sure you want to do this? Cycling
is a selfish sport and requires everything you have. It will be the hardest
thing you’ve ever done.” I assured him
I wanted to try, so he gave me my first
of many loaner bikes, an Orbea he had
from his racing days.
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Training
The following year, all I did was follow
Ernie’s wheel on epic rides as he was
training for an Ironman. He took me
from nothing to riding a sub-4 hour
century in 3 months. He taught me bike
handling by riding with me every day,
bumping my bars and constantly invading
my space. He taught me how to motor
pace and sent me out in the fastest
group rides, telling me when to shift,
when to get out of the saddle, as well as
when to drink and eat on the bike.
I learned group dynamics before I ever
had any real cycling fitness, so I became
skilled at hiding in a peloton. He got me
from a beginner to cat 2 in half a season.
Things were progressing between us on
and off the bike: we started dating in the
summer of 2010. And in October of
that year, we found out we were pregnant. Ernie also has two lovely daughters
(Evie and Rubi) - from a previous marriage, and at the time all I could envision
for myself was going from budding athlete to full-time mom. I thought cycling
was a lost cause. I wanted to keep the
baby, but for the first few weeks I spent
my time being disappointed in myself as
I tried to decide how to break the news
to my family, friends, and workplace.
Despite how I felt, Ernie was a life-saver
and stayed positive the entire time.
While I was sure the life I knew was
over, he encouraged me every day that
he was going to stick by me through the
pregnancy, that we’d have the baby and
take it one day at a time after that. He
also promised he would help me get
back into shape after the baby came.
He still wanted to support my dream of
becoming a professional cyclist.
Twins
A big part of keeping that cycling dream
alive during my pregnancy was founding
our coaching business in the winter of
2010. Since I had quite a bit of down
time as I was expecting, Ernie and I
started Leborne Coaching (from our last
names LEchuga and wilBORNE). Ernie
had always wanted to coach after racing
professionally and just needed a little organizational help from my end. I got the
word out that he was officially coaching,
then created our website and business
model. It ended up growing a lot more
than we expected and has created for
us an opportunity not only to share
what we love, but also support ourselves financially while having the flexibility
to work while traveling to races. As we
were creating the foundation
>>
Photography
Photo
© Tish Fallis
- Text -
I was 5 days late. In my tiny apartment
bathroom, I opened the packet and nervously followed the instructions inside. I
waited 60 seconds with my eyes closed,
breath held, and there it was: the plus
sign. PANIC! Tears streamed down my
face as the truth sunk in: I was pregnant.
FEMININMAGAZINE
25
portret
Life is busy, but so good
because we do it as a family
and share the experiences together!
10-12 weeks pregnant
Watermelon for Ernie
twins for me (39 wks)
Our current life: !
4 kids and all bikes
for Leborne Coaching, we also shared
with our family and a select few the big
news that we were expecting. Ernie, my
mom, and I went to the first ultrasound
at 10 weeks into my pregnancy. It was
too early to see what sex the baby
would be, but the first ultrasound ensures there’s a heartbeat and normal rate
of growth. I remember laying on the lab
table with the jelly slathered all over my
belly as the nurse moved the ultrasound
machine over my tummy, which was just
starting to show. And then she said it:
“Umm…Honey, there are TWO babies
in there!”It’s hard to put into words
what I felt at that moment. Surprise,
excitement, and anxiety, but this time
my tears were for pure joy! I was going
to have twins! Something about that
realization changed my mentality, and
from that moment on, I became really
proud and excited to be where I was.
At 10 weeks into my pregnancy, I began
enjoying my journey towards becoming
a mother. What I thought would hold
me back was actually turning into best
thing that would ever happen to me.
10 weeks later I found out they were
boys, just as I’d hoped they would be!
Ernie and I settled on names after some
thought, and decided the firstborn
would be Eli and the second would be
Ethan. The pregnancy went very well,
with only the end being difficult, as I
gained over 70 lbs and was finally induced at 39.5 weeks! I’d gone from a lean
athlete to weighing over 200 lbs with a
stomach the size of a summer-ripened
watermelon. But I had a two healthy,
beautiful boys on July 18, 2011 - Tour de
France babies!
Racekids
Kids race at San Dimas
March 2015
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The journey since then has been something I wouldn’t exchange for anything.
My husband Ernie and I got married
when the boys were two months old,
a simple civil ceremony to recite our
wedding vows. The first year was both
rewarding and extremely tiring. I started training a few months after the boys
were born, and I entered my first pro1-2 race (a combination of professionals
and amateurs) in 2012, when the boys
were seven months old. We were completely sleep deprived and I had very
little fitness, but considered not getting
dropped a huge success! Ernie and I
decided we would take the kids to as
many races as possible, because they’re
part of who we are. We do life and
cycling together. I want my family there,
even though bringing young children
presents many challenges and is literally
exhausting at times. It’s not easy traveling with kids - we pack movies, sticker
books and all forms of imaginable kids
entertainment, but there is still boredom
and crying from time to time! It’s also
harder to recover from racing because I
have two kids that need care and want
their mother’s attention after the race!
We’ve been at races where one or both
boys have been sick, and I struggled with
feeling guilty, questioning if I was doing
the right thing as a mother to bring the
little ones with us. I wondered if I should
just be at home taking care of them
and being “normal”, but I realized they
would be sick at home or on the road
- they’re kids! They are hearty, resilient
and strong, and I decided as long as they
are getting lots of love and care, that’s
all they truly need. So, Eli and Ethan
have watched their mom in training and
at bike races from the hatchback of a
Suburban, from neutral support vehicles
in the caravan, from strollers, on the side
of the road, and even from hanging out
of our moon roof to yell at me, “Go
faster, Mama!”. My two step-daughters
are not with us as often, as they live out
of state, but if we are able to bring them
with us, we do! I think the Lechuga kids
will either love or hate bikes, because
that’s all they know from our lifestyle!
before I signed with a pro team. I raced
independently or with composite teams
for 2012 and 2013, and we raced totally
out of our own pockets. I realize now
how special that was to have a spouse
who supported my dream enough to
even rack up a little credit card debt
from hotels, gas, and eating out on the
road. The boys think our apartment is a
hotel, and they refer to it as the “Home
hotel”!
Ernie has always told me, “Money comes
and goes. If you spend it doing what you
love with the people you love, then you
aren’t losing anything.” So we took a risk
those first two years and just decided
we could work later. And we did work
hard and paid it off: it all came full circle,
thanks to family and friends and the
coaching business. We worked our tails
off through 2012-2013 to build our
coaching business by teaching what we
loved on the bike - handling skills, confidence in a group, efficiency, and smart
training techniques. We became the
“go-to” coaches for road cycling in central Arkansas. I then signed with Tibco
for the 2014 season after having some
decent results nationally and traveling
with the US National team to Europe in
the fall of 2013.
Life as it is
Mid-2014, I signed with UnitedHealthcare Pro cycling and am still racing for
them for the 2015 season, for which
I’m very grateful. The racing experience
has been amazing and hard as a mother,
but it is so rich. I have always agreed
with the quote, “To whom much is given,
much is required,” and I definitely feel the
weight of my responsibilities as a mother,
a wife, a professional racer, and a coach.
Life is busy, but so good because we do
it as a family and share the experiences
together! Even now that I’m on a fully
supported professional team, Ernie and
I still make it a priority to bring the kids
with us as much as possible. We have
no routine whatsoever because we’re
in and out of home and usually on the
road, so we live each day as it comes!
Eli and Ethan play all day, stay up late,
and often sleep in til 8:30 or 9:00am in
the morning! But my boys experience
an abundance of amazing opportunities,
which I wouldn’t ever trade. From being
around cycling, host-homes, hotels, and
travel, they will learn generosity, flexibility, dedication, and a love of seeing the
world. They participate in kids races at
my events, and they watch their Mama
and Papa live out passion for each other
and cycling. Each year as the twins get
older and easier, I’m gaining in fitness and
racing experience. I entered cycling so
late compared to many riders, but considering it’s my second year to race
I have very fond memories of the times
we spent in route from race to race
FEMININMAGAZINE
27
Photo © Jono Devich
AGU B.V. T: +31(0)72 5411511 E: info@agu.nl
advertisement
Photography Scotti Lechuga Text Scotti Lechuga
This photo was taken after crashing on the 2nd stage descent at Tour of Gila 2015 this
year… What’s special to me about this picture is you can see my necklace, which has two
charms - one is a pendant of the Virgin Mary because she embodies Motherhood. The
other charm is a ring with two bands: one for each of my children to remind me they are
always with me. I love how in this moment of pain you can still see what I hold on to.
professionally, I’ve been blessed with
incredible opportunities to race around
the world, thanks to the support of my
family, friends, and team. My most memorable races within this past year have
been the Giro Rosa, La Course, Tour of San
Luis, and just recently I won my first UCI
race at stage 4 of Joe Martin Stage Race,
finishing 2nd overall on GC. The success
on the bike is a direct results of my support crew, beginning with my rock of a
husband, who balances coaching me and
being my partner in life. He is the one
who has most enabled me to pursue my
dream while still being a mother. I’d like
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to dedicate my story and my success to
Ernie Lechuga.
Being a mother has been a part of my
success as a cyclist without a doubt. I
honestly don’t think I would be where
I am now without my children. They
teach me so much about myself that I
needed to learn to be a good cyclist.
They not only taught me to push past
what I thought were my limits; they also
gave my life balance. They keep me from
obsessing about things I can’t control,
and they are always there at the end of
the day to pick me up when I feel down.
They’ve taught me to open up to life
more and to expect good to come even
when I feel I’ve been set back. Recently
I took a bad spill on a descent at Tour of
the Gila. I thought of quitting, but I pictured my family. They sacrifice so much
for me to do what I do; I always want
to make it worth their time and effort
by giving it everything I have in return. I
got back up, dusted myself off, had the
mechanic fix my bike on the side of the
road, and then attacked off the front
for our team - something I would have
never done without mom strength. F
fizik.com/makingofchampions
MICHELLE VESTERBY, TRIATHLETE AND GOLD MEDALIST.
CHOOSES R5B DONNA.
196x283 tritone feminin NL.indd 1
26/06/15 10:08
Norway
Recreational mountain biking is still relatively new in
Norway, but that hasn’t prevented early adopters from
taking advantage of some great outdoor amenities. Bike
riders have generations of their two-footed friends,
hikers, to thank. There has always been a great tradition
of hiking in Norway, where nature lovers and regular
people alike take time out to explore the countryside,
along the coast, in the mountains, and down woodland footpaths. Much to a mountain biker’s delight, this
means there is a well-maintained network of marked
trails all across Norway. You can conquer long and
steep hills, follow trails along rivers, through plateaus
and up to mountaintops, take scenic detours on small
roads closed to traffic, and ride through vast pine and
spruce forests. It’s amazingly peaceful, too. You can ride
along paths that stretch out across the mountain on a
multi-day trip without seeing somebody else. If that’s
a little too Zen for your style, there are also plenty of
shorter routes to explore for one day trips, or fast and
hard training rides. If you’re looking at the map and
overwhelmed by choice, consider Eastern Norway for
mountain biking, with high mountains and lots of exciting rides in the counties of Buskerud and Oppland.
Be prepared
In Norway, everyone has the unrestricted right of
access to the countryside, including within national
parks. This unique privilege allows you to ride your
bike to explore the country’s wilderness and beauty,
but in doing so, you also have some obligations. You
might remember your school teacher reminding your
classmates during a field trip to “take only pictures, and
leave only footprints”. In Norway, you are not allowed
to cause damage to any of the natural environment as
you pass through, and you must show respect to other
trail users, as well as land owners and farmers. In particular, bike riders are asked to take into consideration
the marks left by your bike, especially in wet conditions, and to always follow already established trails. By
following these common and simple rules (along with
staying visible, yielding to pedestrians, and riding in a
predictable fashion), you shouldn’t expect any conflicts
along your route.
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FEMININMAGAZINE
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photo © Sverre Hjørnevik - visitnorway.com
Postcards of Norway might give you the impression
that the Scandinavian country only consists of deep
fjords and mountain peaks - but there is so much
more to it than that. The country’s vast and beautiful
landscapes translate into an almost endless supply of
places to ride your bike. The scenery, the good food,
and the warm and friendly locals will help your trip to
Norway to be unforgettable.
Photography - Text -
Mountain biking in
travel
31
travel
Here are three sample off-road itineraries:
To help narrow your choices and to make planning a little bit
easier, you should decide on what kind of biking you want to
do. There are plenty of routes from easy family trips on gravel
to more challenging trails with heavy climbs and steep descents
for high adrenaline rides or training. If you are heading down
the long, steep roads leading down from the mountains and
into the fjords, make sure to control your speed and check
your brakes. Some roads can have hairpin turns. You might be
tempted to put the hammer down along the main roads, but
it’s neither pleasant nor safe. Avoid the main roads from Oslo
to Bergen (E16), to Kristiansand (E18), to Hallingdal and Geilo
(national route 7), and Trondheim and Bodø (E6).
You can do a ton of pre-ride planning on www.ut.no. You
can search for trips in all parts of Norway, and to calculate
the length and gauge the difficulty of your rides. The site also
features hiking trips, climbing trips, kayaking and cross-country
skiing if you want to step away from biking a bit.
Planning
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FEMININMAGAZINE
If you want to go on a spectacular ride along the
sea, with a bit less uphill climbing than some
of the mountain routes, Kyststien or “the
Coast Trail” might be a good option.
This trail runs along a great part
of the Norwegian coastline,
and offers seaside trail riding
in beautiful surroundings.
The Norwegian coastline
is one of the longest in
the world with long
fjords, bays, and islands.
Originally, the path was
made for hikers and
the idea was to keep
the trail as close to
the coast as possible.
Therefore, some stretches of Kyststien run
alongside the coastline
across beaches just inches away from the water.
A good deal of effort has
gone into marking the path
for mountain bikers to make
it accessible and easy to follow.
3. Downhill / Enduro (heavy)
1
3
2
Rugged wilderness and mountain peaks mean
Norway is extraordinary for alpine skiing in
the winter. In the summer, though, some of
the ski destinations are outfitted for downhill
riding. For instance, Hafjell, the host of the
2014 UCI MTB World Championship, has a
well-equipped bike park and many different
downhill trails to offer, for everyone from
beginners to professional downhill riders.
Enduro cycling is also growing in popularity,
and there are plenty of trails to test your
skills on the hills.
No matter which part of Norway you visit,
you’ll be hard pressed not to find a place to
mountain bike. Book a flight or hop in the car,
and load up your gear. Norway will bring out the
adventurer in you. Be warned, though: once you
visit for a mountain biking excursion, you will fall in
love with the country, and you’ll keep coming back.
Consider yourself warned! F
Photo “The Atlantic Road” © CH - Visitnorway.com
Photo “View on Geiranger Fjord” © Sveinung Myrlid - visitnorway.com
June, July and August are the best months for cycling. The
temperature isn’t too extreme, hovering in the 20s. At 1,000
meters and above, the temperature dips a bit, around 15 to 19
degrees. May and September can also be fairly warm, but you’ll
find the weather might betray you more often – no fun getting
stuck in the rain or an unseasonable cold snap. (Heads up: up
at 1,340 meters on Rallarvegen (the Navvies’ Road) snow can
linger until the first week of July.) That said, spring in Norway is
a beautiful place to see the Earth awaken from the winter, and
the spectacular autumn colors might just rival the American
Northeast. The best weather can be found in Southern Norway.
Northern Norway is a bit cooler, and the fjords are rainier. You’ll
need to pack a variety of gear to stay comfortable, warm, and
dry. Think fleece jackets and long johns for colder days, waterproof shoe covers for wet conditions, and t-shirts and shorts
plus proper SPF for the sunny ones.
2. Kyststien (easy)
More info
VisitNorway.com
Photography - Text -
Every town or village has shops where you can buy food and
drinks, and often you can find some basic bike parts. (But, if you
need specific mountain bike repairs, your best options are in
the bigger cities.) You can also usually transport your bike on
the trains or busses, but check the fare and if you need to make
a reservation for your bike in advance as space is limited. Before
you head out of town, make sure you have enough food for
the day, as well as the right gear, such as maps, basic repair tools,
and extra inner tubes. A mobile phone can enhance your safety,
but remember that not all areas have mobile phone coverage.
Even though most cycle routes avoid tunnels (even lighted
ones) by circumnavigating via the route that existed before the
tunnel was built, you should still bring lights to be visible. If you
do encounter tunnels, you’ll find a sign with the tunnel’s name
and length at the entrance – some can be more than 5 km
long, so make sure your lights are charged up and you’re all set
before entering. As always: plan your ride and ride your plan.
With thousands of cyclists passing down it every year, Rallarvegen (the Navvies’ Road) is one of the most popular
bike routes in Norway. This road in central Norway, midway
between Oslo and Bergen, was built at the turn of the 20th
century as a construction access road for building the Bergensbanen railway line. It consists mostly of small gravel roads
and relatively easy trails. The most popular part of the road is
the route from Finse to Myrdal. The trip can be done in one
day, but if you want to enjoy the ride and take some leisurely
breaks, accommodations are available nearby so you can turn
it into a two-day trip.
Photography visitnorway.com Map Google Maps Text Ingrid Bøe Jacobsen
Photo “The Navvies Road” © Sverre Hjørnevik - visitnorway.com
1. Rallarvegen (medium)
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CY C L I N G
I started cycling, because …
... my friends suggested it would be good cross training for my
other sport, cross-country skiing.
Where did you learn how to ride and race?
I started mountain bike racing with a program called Kids of
Mud when I was 13. From there I joined the provincial team
and was coached by a former Polish pro, Marian Pyszczek. He
got me to start road racing as well and convinced me that I was
meant to be a bike racer. I stopped skiing competitively when
I was 19 and joined a local team in Vancouver called Trek RedTruck racing. I earned my first professional contract in 2011
with Colavita-Forno d’Asolo, and have now raced with Optum
for 4 years.
If the bike didn’t exist, then …
... The world would be a much sadder and less connected place.
This female pro cyclist is my inspiration:
Clara Hughes - she is a Canadian national hero for her achievements in sport, medaling in both summer and winter Olympics,
and for her humanitarian efforts (and we are actually from the
same city in Canada!) I admire that she was not only a great
sports champion, but still does so much to give back to the
community after retiring from the sport, working especially hard
to raise awareness about mental illness.
What’s the nicest bike you ever had?
Maybe this doesn’t count as the nicest, but the most unique
bike I ever owned was a custom welded bike from my first
coach. I couldn’t afford a road bike, so he decided to make me
a frame out of two broken frames by welding them together! I
didn’t ride this bike for too long, I don’t think it was UCI legal…
This is the funniest thing I experienced on the bike:
I once fell off my mountain bike and somersaulted down a
ravine. I was completely fine, but my friend freaked out because
I had completely disappeared from sight under all the trees, she
thought I was gone forever. It was funny for me, maybe not for
her.
Do you have any ritual you háve to do before a training or race?
My favourite pre-race meal is oatmeal, banana and peanut
butter. Sometimes I’ll even eat this for dinner if we race really
late.
Which race would you really like to win once in your life?
The Olympic road race, it’s simply the biggest race in the sport.
If I hadn’t become a pro cyclist, then …
... I might be a world class nordic skier, or adventuring in the
Canadian mountains.
D A I LY L I F E
I have …
... two brothers, one is studying marine biology and the other
studies fine arts, I am the most athletic child from my family.
I’m currently a full time cyclist. I did study at Quest University in
Canada and graduated in 2013 with a Bachelors degree in Arts
& Sciences. I would like to continue my studies in the next few
years, possibly in a field related to public health and nutrition.
I have a relationship with …
What does your favorite Saturday night look like?
Have a bonfire and eat smores with friends!
My Monday mornings are like this:
Wake up, drink lots of coffee, breakfast, some yoga and core,
get ready to ride.
I read …
I do love to read. Cooking magazines are my favourite, I’m always looking for new creative meal ideas. The best recent book
I’ve read is “The Boys in the Boat”, I recommend it to anyone
looking for an inspiring sports related story.
24 years old, born in Winnipeg Canada, lives in Dundas Canada, current team: Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
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... board games occasionally - Settler’s of Catan is the
best.
In 25 years, I’ll be …
... 50 years old and possibly experiencing a mid life
crisis.
My biggest dream is …
... to win the Olympic road race while representing
Canada.
This woman inspires me:
I think Chandra Crawford is amazing- Canadian Olympic nordic skier & gold medalist at the 2006 Winter
Olympics. She founded Fast and Female, an organization that seeks to empower girls through sport.
The events connect elite athletes from numerous
sports with young girls in their communities. I admire
Chandra’s energy and intense drive to share her love
of sport and empower those around her.
I am severely annoyed by ...
... half wheeling on group rides, it’s just unnecessary!
I’d like to teach my (grand)children...
... how to ride a bike!
Do you have a job next to your cycling career?
... Dan Peters, we met through the provincial cycling team when
we were younger.
Leah Kirchmann
I play …
I watch …
A B O UT M E
What part of yourself do you find most beautiful?
I tend to be very quiet, but I think this allows me to
be more observant and considerate towards others
because I’ll notice details that others might miss.
My guilty pleasure is ...
... Nutella, I can’t buy it or it won’t be around for long.
I’d like to get rid of this bad habit/tic of mine:
I tend to overanalyze things, sometimes I wish my brain
would be quiet.
I’m terrified of ...
... dogs that chase me while out riding!
My last holiday destination was:
Winnipeg for Christmas, it was -30 degrees Celsius the
whole time, but it was still nice to get the rare chance
to visit my family!
My favorite holiday destination is:
I go in phases of watching tv, lately I’ve been watching Scandal
and Game of Thrones.
Lake of the Woods, Ontario at my family cottage. I
spent every summer here growing up and it is such a
beautiful and relaxing place to be.
I listen to …
The most beautiful place on earth is:
... almost anything, I especially like the Canadian bands Metric
and Arcade fire. You always need a good playlist for time trial
warm ups.
Squamish, BC where I attended University, nothing can
compete with the mountains of British Columbia! F
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography - Text -Photography Sam Wiebe Text Leah Kirchmann
Ask her anything...
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Smooth legs
medical
(and more)
without shaving
Saddle sores and their little painful, inflamed friends.
They’re a common type of injury that almost every
rider, professional or amateur has experienced at
one time or another. These little spots of torment
cause a great deal of inflammation, often due
to a blocked or ingrown hair follicle after
shaving. They’re hard to ignore when
you’re riding with one, but it makes
sense to deal with it rather than to
just ‘tough it out’ – an aggravated
sore without proper
treatment could force you
to be off your bike for
way longer than
you want!
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FEMININMAGAZINE
The good news is that saddle
sores, at least from ingrown
hairs and folliculitis, are
avoidable. Shaving and
epilating can continue your
likelihood of acquiring a
saddle sore, because the hair
will grow back. There is one
method, though, that solves this
problem: laser.
Laser treatment. It sounds a bit like
science fiction when you say it, but
lasering is the future! It’s a big advancement from old hair removal techniques.
Most people have removed their hair in
one method or another from their legs,
underarms, pubic area or bum, and often
that’s easily done by shaving, tweezing, or
waxing. This can cause problems, though.
Irritated skin after shaving or plucking is
a familiar problem, especially if you shave
often. No one wants itchy or unsightly
red bumps nor the unpleasantness
of shaving stubble every day. For the
more sensitive areas, even the occasional ingrown hair can cause nasty skin
irritations. Frequent hair removal which
aggravates the skin in sensitive areas
around the groin often causes irritation,
inflammation, and even damage. For a
cyclist, these parts are extra vulnerable.
Most riding positions mean that the
groin area gets little air and is subject to
moisture from sweating – a condition
which can create trouble in the form of
a sore.
Laser hair removal gives as much as 80
to 90% reduction of hair on that particular body part, wherever that patch of
unwanted hair lurks. Laser therapy solves
that for the long term, keeping your skin
smooth and eliminating time you would
have spent dealing with hair removal.
Anna van der Breggen has also recently discovered the laser hair removal.
“Because we have a lot of races and get
daily massages, we have to shave almost
every day. I had suffered from inflamed
sores on both legs and my buttocks. Very
annoying. Someone mentioned laser
hair removal to me. I’ve just read what it
does and what the benefits are. I’m not
a fan of cosmetic surgery, but eliminating
inflammation and ensuring that I could
compete in my sport were the main
reasons for me to go for treatment.
Especially on my lower legs, I wanted to
get the laser treatment done because
I had stubborn, course hair on my legs.
And I’m glad I made the change! Lasering
has saved me a lot of time during stage
races and I have no more infections
from having to shave so often.”
Specialist profession
Anna consulted with the Laser Clinic
in Zwolle, with skin therapists Anouk
Molder and Michelle Jansen. “We are not
the only ones who use this product or
technique, but we are two of the few
people in the Netherlands who have
specialized in laser hair removal,” says Michelle. “There are plenty of beauty salons
that also offer laser therapy, but I would
suggest that you be very careful with it.
It is a highly specialized profession, something you don’t want just anyone to do.“
Skin specialist training requires going to
a college and lasts four years. “We and
others skin therapists are members of
the Dutch Association of Skin Therapists
(NVH). Membership is often a requirement imposed by a therapist’s insurer.
Any good professional is connected
through that, and you should ask about it
when you go to a clinic. With a certified
therapist, you can be sure that you get
the right treatment and therapy. “
Their clinic treats various skin and hair
problems. “We see many athletic women
who come to our clinic with complaints
about their skin and/or hair,” says Anouk.
Many complaints are skin problems such
as acne or pigmentation concerns, and
complaints of infections or skin irritations that can cause discomfort when
exercising. “A familiar complaint among
cyclist clients is their backside, which
can become irritated by ingrown hairs
caused by shaving or epilating,” Michelle
adds. Their clinic sees both male and female clients. “Athletic women, especially
those who cycle, have been seeking this
kind of treatment and dealing with these
problems for a long time. Many of the
women we see here have been under
some other treatment first, and then
sent to us. We would like to see more
male cyclists, because they could also see
an enormous benefit after treatment.”
Their specialization has meant that
people from all around the world have
come to visit and learn more about laser
treatment.
FEMININMAGAZINE
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medical
Besides natural hair growth that is
perceived as undesirable, there is such
a thing as excessive hair growth. There
are different types of hair, they can be
roughly divided into two types.
Hypertrichosis
Hypertrichosis means excessive hair
growth. Typically it means longer or more
hair in a given place. It can occur where
hair grows normally, or in all kinds of
places, for example, in other areas of the
face or patches on the body. Hypertrichosis
happens to both men and women, and can
occur as early as puberty.
Hirsutism
This is a form of hair growth in women
which follows a typical male pattern. Dark
or light, stiff hairs grow on the face in
places that normally only males grow them.
The increase in hair growth appears in
places where normally “peach fuzz” grows,
like on the upper lip, chin, neck, cheeks,
around the areola, chest, back, abdomen,
buttocks and / or the groin. Hirsutism
can occur on the arms and legs, too, and
hair growth is increased, even more than
hypertrichosis.
How does laser work?
In a client interview, the therapists always
explain what the options are, what they
do, and how they do it. During a laser
treatment, there is a short-term highly
concentrated beam of light directed on
the skin. The pigment of the hair absorbs
the laser light and converts it into heat.
This heat then ensures that the hair follicle is destroyed so that no new hair can
grow. Blonde, white or red hair cannot
be treated with laser therapy, due to a
lack of pigment in it.
Laser does not mean all of your hair is
off immediately after one treatment. A
hair grows in a variety of phases and is
not always as sensitive to the laser light.
To ensure that all stubble disappears, it
is necessary to undergo laser treatment
several times. On average, you need
five to ten treatments to get completely
rid of your unwanted hair. A treatment
can be carried out once every six to
eight weeks. The specific number of
treatments depends on the type and the
place on the body. If the hair is darker
and thicker, the laser usually has a faster
effect. Lower legs require fewer treatments than, for example, the armpits.
Additional treatments are required
because of the way hair grows. A hair
always grows in cycles. A cycle usually
lasts four to eight weeks. Facial hair, for
example, like the eyebrows grows faster
than the hair on your body and legs. The
growth rate determines how much time
there is between the two treatments.
think lasering is an addiction, that you’d
want more and more, but I do see the
medical benefits of these treatments.
And not having to shave is just a bonus.”
In a cycle there are three different
growth phases, namely: the active hair
growth phase, the resting phase and the
discharge phase.
Other treatments
Only in the active growth phase the hair
can be permanently destroyed by the
laser light, because this will destroy the
nutrients of the skin cells and as a result
the hair follicle will die. In the growth
phase, the response to the laser light is
optimal, because most of the pigment
is in the hair follicle, which transmits the
most heat and increases the chance of
breakage (removal) of the hair.
“You can shave between treatments. But
you should not pluck or wax, because
it confuses the hair growth cycle.” After
a treatment, the skin may temporarily
feel warm and get pink. Very occasionally,
laser treatment creates some minor superficial blemishes. Improper application
of laser equipment, though, may burn or
cause pigmentation changes.
“I’m almost finished with my treatments,”
says Anna. “I had my legs lasered. I don’t
The clinic also treats acne or other skin
problems. They offer special peels to
remove dead skin cells. Scars can be addressed in a similar laser manner to hair
removal, by using a fractional laser. With
that, the skin is partially peeled by the
laser, which causes the blood circulation and production of new cells to be
stimulated. As a result, skins equalizes
and looks nicer. A major advantage of
these laser treatments is the fact that the
recovery of the treatment is brief, and
you quickly get back to work, exercise,
and sport. Anouk and Michelle say that
the treatments also have a positive
impact on their clients’ self-esteem and
self-image.
Insurance
“Since 2011, people have enjoyed direct
access to dermatologists without a
referral from a general practitioner or
medical specialist, unless the insurer asks
for it. When people without a referral
make an appointment with a dermatologist, the first appointment will include a
skin examination. If necessary, the patient
may also be referred to a general practitioner or a medical specialist. We notice
that the people who come to us with
a request for cosmetic help often find
that professional consideration is needed
about their medical background, before a
treatment device is used on their skin.”
Most treatments which take place in the
laser clinic should be eligible for reimbursement by an insurer. Whether you
qualify for this, though, all depends on
your insurance policy. Every health care
provider can tell you exactly whether
there is an entitlement to reimbursement and, if so, what costs are covered
in the policy. The clinic is able to provide
a consultative summary about the costs,
laying out scenarios about what may or
may not be covered. “We are working
hard to advocate that treatments on the
buttocks and lower legs for athletes can
be compensated,” says Anouk. “For many
female cyclists, it is medically justified to
receive treatment. It seems normal, then,
for these symptoms, as well as other medical conditions, to be treated similarly.”
In sum, laser hair removal may be the
solution you’re looking for. Not only will
it eliminate or significantly reduce the
amount of time you spend shaving (so
you can spend it on more important
things like race prep or other duties), it
will eliminate the issue of ingrown hairs
and hair removal irritation, reducing the
issue of saddle sores and other inflammatory issues which can keep you off
your bike. F
More info
For more information please visit:
acnebehandelcentrumzwolle.nl or laseronthaarbehandelcentrumzwolle.nl
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FEMININMAGAZINE
Laserkliniek Zwolle-Huidtherapie
Wilhelminasingel 9
8011 SJ Zwolle - Netherlands
Photography - Text -
Are you curious about what’s possible for you?
Please join us for a free consultation in Zwolle.
If the hair is darker and thicker,
the laser usually has a faster effect
Photography Stock (p.36) Niels Goudriaan and Laserkliniek Zwolle
Text Niels Goudriaan
About Hair
T. +31 38 421 35 32
E. info@laserkliniekzwolle.nl
W. laserkliniekzwolle.nl
FEMININMAGAZINE
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All stages by Koos Moerenhout
Photo Anton Vos
Giro Rosa 2015
P
Prologue
- July 3
Ljubljana 2 km [individual time trial]
The 2015 Giro kicks off on foreign ground in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The short prologue has two turning points which are well-suited for
explosive riders. Annemiek van Vleuten won last year’s prologue, and
she’s definitely looking for her second win. Anna van der Breggen,
who has already won two prologues this year, will be her biggest
challenger.
2
Stage 1
- July 4
Kamnik – Ljubljana 102,5 km
1
The first stage of the Giro will also be on Slovenian ground. The
102.5 km stage travels from Kamnik back to Ljubljana and doesn’t
look too difficult on paper... until 39 kilometers from the finish
where the peloton will face the first climb. The 3rd category climb
will normally not cause major differences for the GC so chances
are that we will see the first mass of this Giro. The Wiggle Honda
team will have a great opportunity here and will choose who their
sprinting star will be: Bronzini, D’Hoore or Hosking?
Stage 2
- July 5
Gaiarine – San Fior 121,5 km
The first ride on Italian hometurf features three climbs,
one of 3rd category and two climbs of 2nd category, the
last of which is 16.5 kilometers from the finish.
Last year British rider Emma Pooley won in San Fior, but
this year the course is slightly longer. It won’t be a mass
sprint here. Italian Francesca Cruz is the favorite for the
win, thanks to her parcours knowledge. If not Cruz, then
we’ll see the first challengers throwing down during this
stage.
Stage 3
3
- July 6
Curtatone – Mantova 130 km
4
Stage 4
- July 7
Piotello – Pozzo d’Adda 103 km
After a hilly start, the peloton will move
onto flatter grounds. There is a fair
chance for a mass sprint where we’ll see
plenty of Italian sprinters all wanting to
go for the highest place on the podium.
...will there be a battle between Guarschi
and Bronzini?
35 kilometers out, the peloton will
actually pass the finish line, so the pack
will know what to expect in the final
kilometres. This stage is the last chance
for the sprinters in the Giro Rosa.
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41
26 Giro Rosa
th
3 - 12 July 2015
6
San Domenico di Varzo
9
8
Nebbiuno
1
Aprica
Morbegno
Verbania
Pisano
Tresivio
Trezzo sull’Adda
Pioltello
4
San Fior
5
2
Kamnik (SLO)
Ljubljana (SLO)
Gaiarine
Pozzo D’Adda
3
Mantova
7
Loano
Legend
Stage Start Place
Stage Finish Place
Individual Time Trial
Prologue
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FEMININMAGAZINE
Arenzano
P
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Prologue [2 km]_
Ljubljana (SI) - Individual time trial
July 3, 2015 - 19:00
Stage 1 [102,5 km] Kamnik (SI) - Ljubljana (SI)
July 4, 2015 - 12:00
Stage 2 [121,5 km] Gaiarine (TV) - San Fior (TV)
July 5, 2015 - 11:20
Stage 3 [130 km] Curtatone (MN) - Mantova (MN)
July 6, 2015 - 12:00
Stage 4 [103 km] Pioltello (MI) - Pozzo D’Adda (MI)
July 7, 2015 - 13:00
Stage 5 [128,4 km] Trezzo sull’Adda (MI) - Aprica (SO)
July 8, 2015 - 12:15
Stage 6 [102,5 km] Tresivio (SO) - Morbegno (SO)
July 9, 2015 - 12:00
Stage 7 [89,7 km] Arenzano (GE) - Loano (SV)
July 10, 2015 - 11:50
Stage 8 [21,7 km] Pisano (NO) - Nebbiuno (NO) - Individual time trial
July 11, 2015 - 12:15
Stage 9 [92,7 km] Verbania (VCO) - San Domenico di Varzo (VCO)
July 12, 2015 - 12:30
FEMININMAGAZINE
Illustrations GiroRosa.it Map Yvonne Goudriaan Dusol
Curtatone
43
Stage 5
- July 8
Trezzo sull’Adda – Aprica 128,4 km
6
5
The Spaniard Mikel Landa won here in Aprica
during the last male version of the Giro d’Italia.
The women are following the same path to finish
to this ski resort town. All classes of riders need to
have their wits about them here. Who will knock
the doors down during the final decisive climb (2nd
category) of the day? Be prepared for the powerhouse performances from the climbers.
Stage 6
- July 9
Tresivio – Morbegno 102,5 km
Two 2nd category climbs and one 1st category
climb are on the day’s menu. With the previous
challenges possibly tiring out many of the riders,
there’s a good chance for an early breakaway.
Look out for riders like Lucinda Brand to shine
bright.
Stage 7
- July 10
Arenzano – Loano 89,7 km
8
If you are not an excellent time trial rider or great
climber, then this is probably your last chance to
receive the flowers at the end of the day.
Maybe a good day for the riders with home
advantage like the ladies of Ale Cipollini or Be PinkLaClassica.
Stage 8
7
- July 11
Pisano – Nebbiuno 21,7 km
Indivitual time trial
This individual time trial is the decisionmaker in the
Giro. Climb, descend, technical corners, and pushing
watts – it’s all in here. This time trial will provide
significant time differences for the GC. The strongest
riders will definitely rise to the top.
Stage 9
9
- July 12
Verbania – San Domenico in Varzo 92,7 km
After Aprica, this is the second mountaintop finish. Mara
Abbott won last year’s stage on this difficult, 13km long
climb. Could Van der Breggen, Longo Borghini or FerrandPrevot keep her from seeing another victory? F
44
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portret
Name:
Born in:
Lives in: Age: Current team: 46
FEMININMAGAZINE
Lucy Garner
Leicester, Great Bittain
Woudenberg, Netherlands
20
Team Liv- Plantur
She He
Name: Born in: Lives in: Age: Current team: Lars van der Haar
Amersfoort, Netherlands
Woudenberg, Netherlands
23
Team Giant-Alpecin
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography - Text -
(for better - for worse)
47
How did you get introduced into cycling and where did
you learn how to race?
My grandparents were both racing cyclists and my dad always loved
riding his bike. I tried all types of sports but loved cycling. I first
started out riding a penny farthing… and then moved onto modern
bikes! I started racing at the age of 8, so I was very young. I did a lot
of races in all different disciplines and learned a lot from other riders
about how to race.
For which clubs/teams did you ride before you ended up
at your current team?
My first club was the Leicestershire Road Club. I did a lot of mountain biking and cyclocross. I then moved to Node 4 which was a
very well-organized team for women and men. I have been a part
of Team Liv-Plantur for three years now (previously named with
sponsors Skil, Argos, Giant, and Shimano).
Where and how did you meet Lars?
He came to watch me race when I was in Holland but we couldn’t
talk that much, so he then came to visit me in the UK when he was
in his off-season and stayed for the week. It all happened pretty
quickly but I wouldn’t change it. We got on really well and it went
from there.
about Lars
What is the best/most beautiful thing about
him?
The best thing about Lars is how caring he is. Before I
have even thought about it, he has already fixed it for
me. :-) We are completely opposite in most things, but
it works wonders! They always say opposites attract,
right?! Oh and check his eyes, they’re beautiful. :-)
Do you cycle together a lot or do you mostly
train by yourself? How does Lars support you
in your cycling career?
We do cycle quite a lot together in the summer. We
both have to make the hours still so it is nice to go
together or with a group. I like doing my sprint training
against Lars as he pushes me on and it definitely has
improved my sprint.
Is there anything you learned from him that
you didn’t know before, which made cycling
easier/ more fun?
A lot of things. Lars has helped me a lot on the bike, especially with my sprinting and trying different scenarios
out in training. If anyone knows Lars, they know how
helpful he is and how willing he is to help out others. I
moved to Holland very quickly after we got to together.
He helped me a lot with moving away from my family
and making Holland my home.
Would you have met if you wouldn’t both have
cycled? And would you still be together?
Lars
about Lucy
How did you get introduced into cycling and
where did you learn how to race?
What do you admire most in Lucy’s professional and
personal life?
Where and how did you meet Lucy?
Would you have met if you wouldn’t both have cycled?
And would you still be together?
What’s the best/most beautiful thing about Lucy?
What’s your biggest hope for Lucy’s cycling
career?
I had a gymnastics injury, so they advised me to train less. I
didn’t want to do that, so instead I decided to start another
sport. Because my dad was a hobby cyclist, I started cycling
and joined AXA de Valleirenners in Veenendaal.
I remember watching Lucy on the TV when she won her
first Worlds in 2010, and my first thought was, “Wow, she
is a pretty World Champion.” I went to visit her in the UK
and we hit it off straight away.
Lucy would do anything if I asked. She is very caring
towards me and others, and worries if she cares enough.
She makes sure everyone is happy and then thinks about
herself. Lucy also has the most beautiful smile I have ever
seen!
Do you cycle together a lot or do you mostly train
by yourself? How do you support Lucy in her
cycling career?
We train together when we can. Sometimes it is hard
because we have different training schedules, but when we
can, we do. In the winter it is harder for me to train with
Lucy because I do more specific cyclocross training and
Lucy does more hours.
In her cycling career, I admire that Lucy was able to win back-toback World titles. In our private life, I admire how she was able to
move countries and start on a big team at such a young age.
I don’t think we would be together if we both didn’t cycle. We
met because we both do cycling. But I think if one cycled and
one didn’t, we would both make the relationship work anyway.
I hope that Lucy will be able to go to the Olympics, and it would
be great to see her wearing the World Championship stripes
again.
Do you ever get scared when Lucy races or goes out
training?
I am not scared when she starts a race or goes out training, but if
I hear there has been a very big crash or something has happened in a race, then I am of course worried to find out if Lucy has
been involved in it.
Are you proud of Lucy?
I am very proud of Lucy. She has accomplished a lot already in
her life. F
Photography Mathilde Dusol Text Lucy & Lars
Lucy
portret
Lars and me definitely wouldn’t be together now if we
both didn’t cycle. Unless we randomly met on a holiday,
but I doubt that would have happened!
Do you ever get scared when Lars races or
goes out training?
Photography - Text -
No, not really. I think maybe because it is normal for me
as I am also out on the bike and racing, so I don’t think
about that too much. I maybe get scared a bit more
now that Lars is doing more road in the summer, but I
guess crashing is part of cycling.
What can you tell us about Lars that nobody
else knows?
He is a perfectionist in everything he does.
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49
14. - 16. August 2015
Halden, Norway
Altitude training
Books, shampoo, hair straightener, facemasks, a lot of
powerbars, sports drinks, recovery shakes... those are just
some things I took with me for my altitude training. Of
course, I also took some clothing with me, but if I named
everything I packed in my suitcase, then I wouldn’t have
any room here to write a good column!
We are proud to welcome
you to the only Norwegian
UCI-race for women Ladies Tour of Norway 2015,
which will be arranged in
Halden from the 14th. to the
16th. of August. There will be appr. 16 starting worldwide UCIteams and several thousands of eager spectators. There will also
be live streaming from all three stages, so the race could be followed all over the world.
I have been at altitude training for 21 days at 2300 meters on a mountain somewhere in Spain. It was my first
time training on a mountain, and also the first time I have
been away from home for 21 consecutive days, so I’ve
never taken so long to pack my suitcase. And I also have
to confess something else here: I’m quite a homebody,
so homesickness was actually the thing I was not looking
forward to! Moreover, I was about to spend three weeks
with my two teammates, Anna van der Breggen and
Lucinda Brand, in one room. Although these are champions on the bike and especially off the bike, you obviously
don’t know how the relationship will be after three
weeks in each other’s space!
Now, you may be wondering, why the hell are you going
sit on a mountain for three whole weeks? Well, I am doing
all of this so I can perform at my best at the end of June
and the beginning of July. At 2300 meters, there is less
oxygen in the air, and as I have trained, slept, and lived
here for three weeks, my body has (supposely) adapted
to these conditions. My body has created more red blood
cells, resulting in improved oxygen supply to my muscles.
As a result, I can now ride longer and faster, and also
recover faster after a workout or a race. At least, that is
the general idea behind it.
In addition to the UCI-race, there
will also be arranged “Girls on
Tour” - a so called exercise race for
women at all ages and physically
skills. The main purpose for this
race is to let every woman know
that cycling is FUN, regardless if you are a proffesional rider or just
an excerciser. The race also supports the research for breast
cancer, so women helping women!
We look forward to seeing
you in Halden in August!
COLUMN
@RoxaneKnetemann
www.ladiestour.no
Because this was my first time training on a mountain,
I had no clue what to expect. Since I am labeled as quite
the training beast, people insisted that I really had to take
it easy, and that I should be careful about returning to the
hotel exhausted, fatigued, and worn out. Once in Spain,
I fully understood what everyone was talking about. For a
training session where I would normally be fully recovered in one day, it took me now two days to recover.
I wasn’t really hungry while my body was working overtime to recover. And sleeping...that was quite different
than below sea level, too. I was tired but my body
couldn’t fall asleep, and I woke up at least three or four
times each night with a dry throat. But hey, I take it all
in stride, hopefully will see some good race results as a
result. I have adopted the Spanish lifestyle for these three
weeks: everything tranquilo, tranquilo!
Roxane
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography Pioneer/Deurloo
- Text -
But there appears to be another advantage of living on
a high mountain: there are no flat roads to be found. If I
haven’t found my climbing legs in Spain, I won’t find them
anywhere! And these climbing legs could be useful somewhere in the beginning of July during the Giro Rosa!
51
Tips
Tricks
mtb tips & tricks
by Rozanne Slik
the right gear
Mountain biking is as much about enjoyment as it is about your equipment.
To ride a track as smoothly as possible, or to ride in the so-called “flow”,
you’ll need to practice. Learning to shift at the right time is an important
skill to achieve this. In this article, we give you some advice on shifting and
choosing the right gear.
Both humans and motors have certain speeds at which
turning or movement (for bikes, pedaling) is optimal.
In order to maintain optimal performance at different
speeds, you want to be in the right gear ratio. Too big
of a gear won’t help you up a hill, and too small of
one and your legs will be flying around like a cartoon
character. Different training techniques indicate that
somewhere between 80 and 100 revolutions per mi-
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nute is an effective rotation speed. It can be challenging
for a novice cyclist to learn which gear to use at the
right time and when to switch between them. You’ll
see even experienced mountain bikers struggle exactly
when and how to switch gears. A good mountain bike
ride depends on experience, the day’s conditions, and
the equipment you’re running.
Types of gear
Most manufacturers make a range of shifting groupsets,
from cheap to very expensive. The price difference is
due to the type of material they use. In general, the
top of the line isn’t always the absolute best – the
middle and low-end of the range can be perfectly
fine, depending on where you use it. If you ride only
a couple of times a year, spending more money on
high-end parts isn’t going to be worth it for just a few
sporadic rides. But if you ride every day, or rely on your
bike to earn your bread, the best equipment is crucial
but it comes at a price. The basic rule is that the more
expensive the material, the better and faster the part.
You need to know what your needs are and the limits
of your equipment.
Photography - Text -
A textbook would tell us that a transmission is a machine that produces a mechanical advantage through
a gear ratio. Gears manipulate the speed and torque
of a power source. The gear ratio can be calculated
from the number of teeth on the gears – it’s the ratio
of the angular velocity of the input gear to the angular
velocity of the output gear. The mechanical advantage,
or in other words, how much the gears are helping you
out, is determined by the gear ratio. The mechanical
advantage principle applies to mountain biking, where
the terrain is constantly changing and you need the
right gears to change the speed and torque of the power coming from your legs. When you get the shifting
in sync with the landscape, you’ll feel the “flow”.
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In mountain biking you have the choice of several magazines and
cassette ratios that will help you in different situations. It can be
confusing, but simply put, you have three types to use across all
types of terrain:
• Large chain ring: Good for flying downhill, and hammering fast flat segments
• Middle chain ring:
Good for a short or average climb, and slow flat pieces
• Small chain ring:
Good for long or (very) steep climbs
Straight chain line
Keeping the chain in as straight a line as possible between the
front and rear sprockets is, at least for me, a golden rule. Crosschaining means that the chain is spinning between the front
and rear chain rings at an extreme slant: either the big ring in
the front and the big cog in the back, or vice versa. By avoiding
cross-chaining. you reduce friction between the sprockets and
the chain, which means easier pedaling with the added advantage of less material abrasion. You also lower the chances of
skipping gears, and give yourself more ability to fine tune when
you’re not maxed out at either end.
You can keep the chain in line by not shifting to extremes. Most
bikes have two or three chain rings in the front. Those are the
ones that you shift with the controls at your left hand. There are
usually anywhere from seven to eleven gears (or cogs) in the
back, which you can shift with your right hand.
If you’ve cross-chained by shifting up on the rear cassette and
are still at the lowest end of your front cassette, you can swiftly
adjust your gearing by upshifting the front cassette. You’ll find
that shifting the front cassette means you don’t need to shift
through as many gears when your speed is changing quickly.
The more you practice, judging when to switch which gears
becomes almost automatic.
mtb tips & tricks
than speed. If you’ve mastered the pace, then you can slowly
increase your speed. For small, steep climbs you want to use a
moderate gear, stand up and powerfully cycle to the top. This
does take some experience and strength, but you will find that
you can soon easily cycle through the top of the climb with
higher speed. Whether you go slow or fast, flexibility in shifting
is the key. At some point in the ride, especially in mountain
biking, you will need to move smoothly over each track. If you
find switching gears remains difficult, you can choose a different
switching system. You might like trigger shifters, an electronic
switch, or a grip shift system.
Racers will be concerned about the weight of the groupset. They
might choose gears that let them go faster with only two rings,
or only one ring instead of three. Fitness also plays a role – you
want to make sure you have the right gears to get around (consider a single-speed rider attempting a big hill). Ultimately, gearing
is an issue of personal preference. You can choose less weight or
more comfort during your ride. On Dutch courses, riders are
generally fine with two chain rings.
First aid for chain suck
Switch gears before it breaks!
It’s an issue in mountain biking because it usually happens when
you have mud or grit on your chain and cogs, and most often
on the small chain rings (aka your granny gears) of triple chain
ring mountain bikes. Chain suck can also happen when your
chain or cogs are worn down or your chain is too new. Think
about it this way: if you combine some worn, misshapen teeth
on your gears with a chain that doesn’t stretch plus gooey
friction from a muddy mountain, you’re creating a recipe for the
chain not to come off the gear’s teeth easily. When the chain
is at the bottom of the cog, it doesn’t have a lot of weight on
it that would force it to disengage, either. So if the teeth and
To prevent exerting excess pressure on the switching mechanism
and the chain, it is important to anticipate when you need to
change gears. This is also one of the biggest reasons why looking
ahead while mountain biking is so important. When entering a
climb, you must have already transferred to the correct gear. You
should pedal so that the number of pedal revolutions before and
after the switch remains approximately the same. Anticipating the
change and pedaling consistently will help you avoid an unnecessary loss of speed. What if you are unable to switch gears in time
for a hill, and you’re stuck in a gear that’s very difficult? Make sure
that you just don’t just put force on the pedals when you switch
gears. It’s tricky because you might lose all of your speed – entering the hill in too tough of a gear will slow you down a lot, and
then not pedaling will obviously not help... but you don’t want to
grind on the shifting apparatus.
If you have a long climb ahead, try approaching it at a higher
speed and in a gear that’s comfortable for you to maintain your
speed. Start the climb with a pretty similar high pace and keep
your thumb on the shifter. Once you feel your rotation speed
going down, then downshift. A steady pace is more important
Chain what? That’s right: chain suck. It’s the phenomenon where
your chain fails to disengage from the bottom teeth of the front
chain ring. Instead, the teeth carry the chain up around the rear
circumference of the ring. The chain winds back onto itself and
gets “sucked” and then jammed between the chain stay and
the chain rings. What sucks even more (pun intended) is that
you don’t expect it to happen, and it can damage or twist your
shifting parts, or your frame, depending where it gets stuck.
the chain get mashed up and muddy, and you keep pedaling…
you’re likely to make it, and your ride, suck. You can avoid chain
suck by keeping your chain and gears clean, and maintaining
your chain with lube which will keep the links fitting well into
the teeth of your gears as you ride along.
Fast descents
Once on top of a hill, you should switch as soon as possible
to the outer chain ring. Especially when you get a long steep
descent after you climb; the longer and steeper the descent,
the faster you’ll go. Switching to a large gear means the chain
will stay taut, and reduce the chance of it falling off as it spins
around quickly. Here too, practice makes perfect. Most new rear
derailleurs have a lock which helps your derailleur move smoothly forward and backward, and helps keep your chain taut. It’s
a great feature for fast descents, but you still need to be sure to
climb in the right gear, because it doesn’t help then and might
even break your chain.
The most important tip I would give is this: get to know the
trail. Anticipate what’s coming. Study the trail first quietly and
slowly, and look at the obstacles, climbs, and descents. Know
what is coming when. If you bring this knowledge into practice,
you will experience improvement every time. F
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FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography Niels Goudriaan Text Rozanne Slik
So which gear to use in which situation?
55
Hoffmann & Majerus
portret
Queens of the Luxembourg roads
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has just two professional women cyclists, and with only
two races scheduled in their own country, willpower and ingenuity are needed to reach the
top. Chantal Hoffmann of Lotto-Soudal and Christine Majerus of Boels-Dolmans are ‘the
leading ladies’ of the current women cycling in Luxembourg.
Cycling is amazingly popular in Luxembourg, according to Christine: “Cycling is
certainly a popular sport in our country,
thanks to popular past pros like the
Schleck brothers – but it is mainly men
who ride their bikes.”
For the ladies, there are only two races
in Luxembourg in the year: the multi-day
UCI-race Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs and the
National Championships. “The rest of the
season we can only race here with the
boys in the junior category. It’s obviously
not very motivating to ride as an Elite
woman amongst boys,” said Christine.
Both ladies prefer foreign races, but support is critical. For Chantal that means
having supportive parents: “As a Luxembourg girl, you need to drive long distances for races. That would be impossible
without parental support. Because of this
though, some girls end up quitting cycling
more quickly than others. It requires a lot
of determination.”
The road to the top
Chantal has ridden for ten years now. “I
started cycling to stay fit, but eventually
I found it so fun that I started to ride
competitions.” She made her debut at a
small club in Luxembourg, then raced for
several years for the Belgian club team
‘De Sprinters Malderen’ . Two years ago,
she made her professional debut at the
Belgian ‘Lotto-Soudal’ team. “To ride with
a team like Lotto-Soudal is a dream. They
compete in many races that I love, and
there is a good atmosphere in the team.
Furthermore, they don’t put too much
pressure on us.”
Christine originally participated in athletics, but had to stop due to persistent
injuries. “During those injuries, I ended up
on the bike a lot to stay fit. Later, I rolled
into the duathlon and triathlon world,
where I won races in my category thanks
to my strong performance in the bike leg.
After that, I started my cycling career at
the Luxembourg Championship in 2006.
The following year, I went to the French
UCI team ‘GSD Gestion’, and combined
cycling with my studies. In 2012, I left
the French team for the Belgian ‘Sengers
Ladies Cycling Team’, where Anna van
der Breggen was riding at the time. In
the year, that followed I got an offer from
the Dutch ‘Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team’.
During the time with the French and
Belgian teams, I had finished my studies,
so I did not hesitate for a second. It was
the right time to move to a world class
team.”
Luxembourg pride
The Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs is a major
multi-day event for women named after
a famous Luxembourg rider, the late Elsy
Jacobs. Jacobs became the first woman
to win the the Road World Championship title in 1958, and was a 15-time
Champion of Luxembourg. In the same
year, she also set the women’s hour
record – an honor that wasn’t broken for
fourteen years.
Christine Majerus
(February 25, 1987)
• 2008-2012 – GSD Gestion
• 2013 – Sengers Ladies Cycling Team
• 2014-2015 – Boels-Dolmans Cycling team
Main results on her record:
• 8 times Luxembourg champion in the time trial (2007-2014)
• 6 times Luxembourg champion in the field (2010-2015)
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FEMININMAGAZINE
• Luxembourg 5 times champion on the road (2010-2014)
• Profit in the Sparkassen Giro (2013)
• Profit in the Therme Cobblestones Exloo Circulation (2011)
• 2nd in the Sparkassen Giro (2011)
• 3rd in Energiewacht Tour (2015)
• 3rd in the Eurocup Novilon (2015)
• 3rd in Stage 3 of the Tour de Bretagne Feminin (2012)
Photography - Text -
Teams:
FEMININMAGAZINE
57
Chantal who is most comfortable in the
Belgian and Dutch spring classics. “I prefer
windy and cobblestone races, but in this
case, I am extra motivated by riding on
my home turf...as challenging as that can
be. My goal was to survive the race and
help my teammates as much as possible,
and since teammate Elena Cecchini won the second stage, I can
honestly say that I succeeded
in that.”
For Christine, the pressure is slightly
higher because the race is organized
by her hometown club, and she is the
current Champion of Luxembourg and
a strong climber. “I always try to be calm
about it and not let the pressure get to
me, even if the race is on my home turf
which I very much look forward to. No
matter how you look at it, it is a race like
any other race. I always put in my all for
each race, in interest of the team.” Prior
to the race, Christine was very confident.
“I have had a good spring, and recently
won a stage at the ‘Energiewacht Tour’,
so I felt confidfent about getting a good
result in my hometown race.”
Christine achieved a top-ten spot in
every stage: sixth in the prologue, eighth
in stage 1 and fifth in stage 2. “With a
final sixth place in the overall standings,
I can be satisfied. It was the best result
for me in this competition. If we had had
a full team, (Boels-Dolmans started with
the minimum number of four riders),
maybe something more would have been
possible.”
Second half the season
The annual Grand Prix
Elsy Jacobs is always marked
red on our calendars!
After the Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs, Christine took had just a week off to rest.
“I am going to have an intense training
period to prepare myself for the second
half of the season. June is a busy month
for me, with some tough races like the
‘GP Gatineau’ in Canada, the ‘Philadelphia
International Championship’, the ‘Friends
Life Womens Tour of Britain’ and, finally,
the ‘Luxembourg Championship’. After
my awesome spring, naturally I hope to
to push myself further. In the long run, I
want to compete for Luxembourg in the
Rio Olympics.”
Like Christine, Chantal also will participate in the ‘Friends Life Women’s Tour
of Britain’. “I raced it last year and am
already looking forward to it again this
year. There were a lot of people there for
each stage. I also hope to be selected for
the World Championships in Richmond
later this year.” Chantal describes her
spring as a time of highs and lows: “I think
I can do better, especially in the second
half of the season.”
And later?
Christine currently lives in France. She
is employed by the Luxembourg army
where she has a sport status. “After I got
my master’s degree in Sports Science
in 2012, I enrolled in Army bootcamp.
After a four month program and
bootcamp, I could call my self a full-time
sports soldier, which allows me to
dedicate myself to sports full-time.” Even
with that, Christine thinks about her
future. “The Sports Science degree was
a big priority for me. Some riders forget
that there is life after cycling and that
a degree can help you. Thanks to my
degree and my background as a soldier, I
think it will be easier to find a job after I
retire from cycling.”
Chantal studied in Belgium for five years
and then returned to live in Luxembourg. “Living in Belgium made it easier
to drive to races, but eventually I just got
used to the long hours in the car. Luxembourg is very beautiful and the roads
are ideal for cycling. In fact, I’d rather live
in Luxembourg than anywhere else.”
And as far as a career beyond cycling?
Like Christine, Chantal knows her
degree and skills outside cycling will help
her in the long term. “I have a part-time
job as a physiotherapist. Hopefully I will
still stay in the cycling world after my
cycling career.”
Room for improvement
Both ladies agree that there is a lot of
room for improvement in their country
in terms of women’s cycling. “It is clear
to me that women are not a priority for
our cycling federation,” says Christine.
“Because Chantal and I both ride for
great teams, we have the opportunity
to ride big races, so the federation
no longer finds it necessary to form a
national team with other women riders.
Too little is done for all the other girls,
and I find that very disappointing. The
federation should dedicate resources to
these girls – take us as an example that
it is possible for a girl from Luxembourg
to compete with the rest of the world.
Mind you, this is not only for the girls,
but for men as well. There is plenty of
room for improvement all around.”
portret
According to Chantal, you can see
some slight improvement. “Occasionally, they race in neighboring countries
with some form of a national team, but
this is very rare. Worldwide, women’s
cycling is growing in popularity, but,
for example, the big races like ‘Tour of
Flanders’, the ‘Fleche Wallonne’, and ‘GP
Plouay’ are still not broadcast live on TV.”
Christine noticed that there were some
cameramen on motorbikes following
them during ‘Fleche Wallonne’, but was
surprised that there was no broadcast
to be found. “The infrastructure and the
resources are there, but they are not
used in an effective way. Infrastracture
and broadcasts are necessary to attract
sponsors. In countries like the UK, for
example, girls are scouted and they
invest in their education and training –
they see the potential the sport has for
women.’ ’ According to Christine, Luxembourg is still far from the UK model.
“In Luxembourg, there is no search for
talent, and so there are many girls who
will never discover their talents. That’s a
shame. It’s hard work if you only have
a handful of women cyclists in your
country, but it also means motivation to
pay attention to all of them. They are the
future”, she added.
With all the challenges, what is needed
to actually get to the top, according to
Christine and Chantal? Christine thinks
confidence is the key. “I think that’s the
most important thing. It is not because,
‘We are women, so we can’t ride fast,’ ”
she laughs. “If you think you are strong
enough, then it’s up to you to prove
it. Surround yourself with people who
believe in you and don’t let yourself
be influenced by people who do not
believe in you.” For Chantal, cycling
needs to be all about having fun. “In the
first place, cycling needs to have a focus
on having fun. Learn to enjoy it and do
not give up when it is not going to your
plan. It will get better. You can get a lot
of satisfaction out of it!” F
Photography Sean Robinson
Photography - Text Text Tara Gins
For Chantal and Christine, the annual
Elsy Jacobs race has always been marked
red in their calendars. But the three-day
race is particularly suitable for climbers,
which makes it a very tough game for
Chantal Hoffmann
(October 30, 1987)
Teams:
• 2010-2013 – De Sprinters Malderen
• 2014 -- Lotto-Belisol
• 2015 -- Lotto-Soudal
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Main results on her record:
• 2nd time trial at the Luxembourg Championship (2014)
• 3rd on the Luxembourg Championship road and time trial (2013)
• 4th on the Luxembourg Road Championship (2008, 2011)
FEMININMAGAZINE
59
ride faster
Everyone knows that eating well, exercise, and a good night’s sleep are
important – it can affect your sports performance, your mood, and how much
you’re able to accomplish in one day. There are plenty of things, though, that
can affect your sleep. After a string of nights with suboptimal sleep, you may
become sleep deprived, which will – along with making you a real grump
around your cycling buddies or teammates – affect your performance.
What does sleep do to your body?
Simply put, sleeping allows you to recover from the last period
of being awake, and prepares you to function the next time you
are awake. Sleep can be divided into two main categories: NonREM (NREM) and REM sleep. NREM sleep is then subdivided
into four stages, with each phase’s sleep being deeper. In stage
one, you’re drowsy and encounter light sleep. Stage two, is the
onset of sleep where you disengage from your surroundings.
Your body temperature drops but breathing and heart rate are
still regular. Stages three and four are the deepest and most
restorative. This is where your breathing slows, your blood
pressure drops, and your muscles relax. The blood supply to
your muscles increases. While you’re sleeping, your body is also
producing proteins that help cells repair damage. In addition,
during deep sleep, human growth hormone is released as part
of the repair and restore function, which is essential for muscle
growth and development.
After about 90 minutes, NREM sleep transitions to REM sleep.
This stage is important to both your body and your brain. It
may seem counterintuitive to learn that your head is very busy
during this phase. During REM sleep, your eyes dart back and
forth (hence REM standing for rapid eye movement) and your
brain is active and probably dreaming. REM sleep plays a major
role in your brain functions, like processing information and
memory. REM sleep helps your brain consolidate procedural
memory about how to do something, like playing a piano or,
yes, riding a bike. Scientists have also hypothesized that REM
sleep seems to be involved in declarative memory processes if
the information is complex and emotionally charged, but probably not if the information is simple and emotionally neutral
(in other words, the science behind the “let me sleep on it”
concept).
Meanwhile, your body totally chills out. Your muscles switch off
and your body is immobile. The level of cortisol, a stress hormone, drops and the “hunger hormones” of ghrelin and leptin
are balanced. Ghrelin signals your brain that it’s time to eat, and
leptin does the opposite. When you’re sleep deprived, your
body makes more ghrelin and less leptin, meaning you’re likely
to overeat. Chronic sleep deprivation and hormonal irregularity
can lead to issues like obesity and diabetes.
What happens when you’re sleep deprived?
If your sleep is shortened, then you disrupt the NREM and REM
cycles, which mean the restorative effects of those cycles are
interrupted. Research shows that limiting the number of hours
of sleep to less than six hours per night for more than four
consecutive nights has a negative effect on some of these pro-
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cesses. For example, your mood is sour, your cognitive performance declines, and hormonal processes fall out of kilter. Your
immune system can also suffer from a lack of sleep. You also
may be more accident prone, as studies have shown. Another
frightening side effect of sleep deprivation is micro sleep. That’s
when you’re asleep for only a few seconds or a few minutes,
but you don’t realize it. If you’re sleep deprived, micro sleep is
out of your control and can be extremely dangerous.
Consequences for sports performance
In addition to a lack of mental clarity and hormonal changes,
lack of sleep has a negative effect on athletic performance.
Muscles don’t recover and repair, leaving you to struggle in your
next day’s efforts. Studies have shown how reducing sleep by
2.5 hours per night can greatly affect your body. It might be
fine for a night or so, but repetitively skipping sleep will lead
to more serious effects on athletic performance, especially for
aerobic endeavors like cycling. Sleep deprivation seems to be
relative; other studies have shown little to no reductions in performance in short anaerobic efforts after acute sleep deprivation. However, skipping just a little bit of sleep repetitively does
have an effect.
So let’s take on the next logical question: does increasing sleep
then have a positive effect on performance? The answer is
simply yes. Your mother, coach, grandma, and everyone else is
right. A full night’s sleep results in more alertness, less fatigue, a
happier mood and pleasant temper, and faster sprint times.
If you are unable to extend your sleep time at night, you can
add rest by taking a power nap during the day. After a power
nap of 30 minutes, subjects of a study experienced better sprint
performance, they were alert and they reported a decrease
in sleepiness. It’s also good to know that a short power nap is
particularly advantageous if you take it later in the afternoon or
in the evening. You might find that helps you fit in a post-work
workout, so you start less tired and are able to give it your all
during your training session.
In short
A short night or prolonged sleep deprivation is likely to have
a negative impact on your sports performance. Chronic sleep
deprivation brings with it more significant problems and worsened performance. Adjusting your sleep to allow a full night of
rest is important, but a 30 minute power nap can help restore
your body after a bad night’s sleep. Whether you’re sawing logs
or just catching some Z’s, rest helps you to perform better during training or competition later in the day. F
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography Stock Text Sophie van Bakel
Sleep more
medical
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Tour(ist) Fever
Summer has started, the days are longer and the
sun is shining: the perfect ingredients for Tour
Fever! Anyone with a bike in their garage knows
the itch. Once entangled with the virus there is
only one treatment: a morning bike ride, followed
by a cup of coffee on the terrace, and then a wellorchestrated session in front of the TV to watch
the daily battle for the yellow jersey in the Tour de
France, combined with some serious Twitter updating, and a post-stage analysis session listening to
the day’s commentary across several Tour evening
programs.
Tour Fever is usually accompanied by extra time
on the bike spent daydreaming about riding up the
mountains and down the Champs-Elysees. Maybe
we should call that part Tourist Fever? More and
more I find myself (writing this column included)
thinking about tourist rides rather than a grand
Tour. The Champs-Elysees came close in sight, but
proved to be too much for my body. In recent
months, I’ve worked really hard to get back to my
old level. I made good procress after my shoulder
fracture, but wasn’t seeing enough of “the old
Loes” in races. I couldn’t race like I used to and
that was frustrating to me. My body was protesting and that made me decide to retire. It wasn’t an
easy choice and I would have liked to see otherwise, but I cannot and will not ride at only 70%.
COLUMN
@LoesGunnewijk
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Whether Tour or Tourist, once you’re infected with
the racing virus, you will be infected forever! The
side effects will probably change a bit... more frequent coffee breaks, a more relaxed pace to catch
more of the scenery or because your legs are feeling tired, and perhaps being a bit wimpy if it rains!
Other things will never change, though, like having
fun in the game, appreciating how much power
you have in your legs, getting a little bit competitive with friends by riding harder and harder, and
enjoying the rides and all the different environments! It’s definitely one of the best viruses that
you can have and, despite this incurable diagnosis,
I’m sure I am going to enjoy it – just from now on,
without a number pinned on my back and outside
the limelight.
With best wishes,
Loes
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography
Orica-AIS
Photography
- Text
-
On the other hand, I am very happy that I have
spent almost 15 years at the highest level. I’ve
been traveling all over the world because of, and
with my bicycle. I’ve seen a lot of the world, and
learned so much about myself and others. I’ve
acquainted myself with different cultures and gave
an awesome performance in my career! After all
the familiar highs and lows, seen both sides of the
medal, it is now time to take the next stage: the
one that includes riding with my hands on top of
the handlebar, together with friends, and time to sit
on a terrace during and/or after a tour(...ist) ride
and have a drink!
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Feminin explores
material
saddles
One of the important parts on your bike is your saddle.
Every man and woman is different. We’ve written
previously about saddle soreness, and you probably
know from experience that the choice of a good saddle
is very important. There are many different types of
saddles of various brands. We’ve tested two of the Italian
brand’s saddle shapes from their K:ium rails line:
the Aliante and the Vesta.
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65
material
Feminin explores
Introduced in 1999, Fi’zi:k’s Aliante is their
most popular and sought-after saddle. The Aliante saddle blends comfort,
support, and speed, and just looks cool
– talk about genuine Italian design! This
year, Fi’zi:k Aliante has a new design on
the market, the Team Edition Aliante R3
K:ium (pronounced “koom”, like zoom),
with a more sophisticated shape and
technology like a Carbon Kevlar shell and
Fi’zi:k’s K:ium rails which are made from a
proprietary rail metal alloy that provides
an 8% weight reduction compared to
solid titanium. The lightest Fi’zi:k saddle
is the Aliante R1, weighing in at just 185
grams.
Comfort and
power transmission
Most of the power comes from your hips
and butt while cycling. If your saddle is
too squished or saggy, you’ll lose momentum, and that means losing power which
should actually be going to the pedals.
The Aliante is a perfect combination of
comfort and power transmission. The
men’s saddle is used by various teams
in the World Tour and some women’s
teams, including Rabo-Liv and Wiggle
Honda, have also chosen this saddle.
No matter if you are a professional or
amateur, male or female, the Aliante
could be a good fit for you. The overall shape of the Aliante saddle has a
rounded tail and a slimmer nose. It has
a composite fiberglass-nylon shell and
strong K:ium aluminum rails, along with
Fi’zi:k’s Spine Concept design which takes
into account your flexibility and riding
position to create the most comfortable
and best performing ride. It also comes
with three pairs of updated scuff guards
(replaceable plastic end pieces to ensure
your saddle doesn’t get damaged by leaning your bike against a wall) so you can
match your own style, or your favorite
team.
Vesta K:ium
Even though plenty of pro women’s
riders choose the Aliante, we can’t blame
you for being a little suspicious of riding
on a saddle designed for a guy. The Vesta
is one of three Fi’zi:k women’s saddle
shapes (the other two are the Arione
Donna and the Vitesse). It’s the most
curved in profile, with a central relief
channel down the length of the saddle.
The rear platform is wide to support
your sit bones, and the Wing Flex side
panels form a gradual taper toward
the nose. The Wing Flex shell provides
flexibility along the edges where the inner thighs contact the saddle, giving you
more range of leg movement. It’s a little
heavier than the Team Edition Aliante
at 259 grams, but it has a similar nylon
carbon reinforced shell, K:ium rails, and
scuff guards on both sides.
Carbon or K:ium?
While K:ium rails are tubular and designed to give great strength-to-weight ratio,
Fi’zi:k also makes braided rails which are
strong, light, and stiff. Rather than a solid
or tubular rail, Fi’zi:k Braided Rails feature
an outer sleeve of braided carbon fibers
that is filled with unidirectional carbon
fibers. Admittedly both are great
choices – if you’re going to get really
picky, we’ll suggest that the K:ium rails
didn’t seem to give as much while turning. Our choice would be the carbon
because they’re lighter and firmer, but
you might also consider your weight
and how they feel when you ride.
Marieke Kerkvliet tested these saddles for us. Let’s start with the easiest
thing: they both look nice. On the bike,
Marieke prefers a more racing style,
so she preferred the Aliante over the
Vesta, especially on long climbs and
turning while climbing in the saddle.
But for long workouts, the Vesta felt
better. Either way, though, both saddles
were top notch. The Aliante is a bigger
investment, so you should try both out
for yourself. If you can, ask to try a saddle extensively before buying it.
Foam machine
Pressure test
Production
The Fi’zi:k saddle production process
starts at a memory foam machine,
where the saddle base gets a layer
of polyethylene foam. Depending on
the specs of each model, the machine
then compresses the foam with heat
and pressure. It then heads to quality control. Then, the saddle cover
pieces, often made of a material called
Microtex, are cut out and either sewn
together or thermo-welded. A laser
machine cuts out the intricate details
found on some models. Then the cover
is glued to the top of the saddle, then
rounded over and attached on the
underside – all by expert craftsmen
and women who have a great eye for
accuracy and construction. The rails,
then, are attached to the saddle with
a little help from a machine. Before
heading out the door, the whole saddle
is checked again and then packaged for
sale. F
saddle cover pieces sewn together
glue
Crafts(wo)men at work
rails are attached
Prices: Aliante € 149
Vesta € 79
More info
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Fizik.it
packaged
ready for sale
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography Fi’zi:k (production), Niels Goudriaan Text Niels Goudriaan
Special thanks to Marieke Kerkvliet and Sarah Colpo
Fi’zi:k (pronounced “physique”), is a
traditional Italian company that was
founded in 1996. Along with high quality
saddles, they make shoes, components,
and accessories for all types of bicycles
and rider categories. At present, Fi’zi:k
supplies two women’s teams and seven
men’s UCI World Tour teams. Marianne
Vos, Anna van der Breggen, Giorgia
Bronzini and Jolien D’Hoore all ride with
Fi’zi:k saddles.
Photography - Text -
Fizik (Fi’zi:k)
67
French cyclist Catherine Marsal was one of the most experienced racers in the women’s road racing peloton, and even
after her competitive days are over, she is still ranked as one of
the best cyclists in the history of women’s cycling. Her closest
rivals were the ever-competitive and famous French compatriot
Jeannie Longo, and Dutch cycling star Leontien van Moorsel.
Catherine Marsal with Danish U19 rider Pernille Mathiesen (team BMS BIRN)
Catherine grew up on a farm. “I was the sixth child in a family of
eight children”, she explains. “You could consider cycling as the
family’s preferred sport because as soon as we could walk, we
soon knew how to ride a bike too,’ she laughs. “We initially needed to cycle to and from school, but this soon evolved into a
competitive sporting activity. My five older brothers raced bikes,
so it was only a matter of time before I started competing too.
We were all very competitive,” she adds. “My brothers did not
want to train with a girl, and to add to that, it did not go down
well being beaten by their younger sister.”
‘La Marsal’ was a serious competitor from the time she started
racing. “I did my first race when I was ten. From the start, I was
on the podium, beating the boys on a regular basis.” Catherine
had a flying start to a successful career: she took her first national title in 1982, in 1987, she became World Junior Champion
in Bergamo, Italy; in 1988, she was the best at the World Junior
Individual Pursuit Track Championships in Odense, Denmark,
Present...
Past and present
Catherine Marsal
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In 2004, after two years of just ‘being in
the peloton for the money, but without a
purpose’, she quit racing and got a spot
as the team director at the Danish Team
SATS. One year later, the team folded
and Catherine moved to Italy for another
team director position – but she could
not acclimatize there. She needed decide
what her next step would be. Moving
back to France? “No, I decided to return
to Denmark where I had enrolled for a
global bachelors study course in nutrition
and lifestyle coaching.” After her studies,
she stayed for one of the best reasons
possible – “love,” she admits with a big
smile. “At that time, it was not possible
to marry my Danish girlfriend in France.
In Denmark, it was...” Now rooted in
Denmark, Catherine also had to start her
second professional career. “I was fortunate enough to become the manager of
the in-company fitness centre at Maersk,
a big transporting company. We had 800
employees that we tried to keep fit and
in shape. It was a great job. Along with
and topped her own record again in 1990. “In Utsonomiya,
Japan, I became the road Elite World Champion.”
After all these accomplishments, when asked for the most
impressive moment in her cycling career, she says without
hesitation, “The World Hour Record! I still remember it as if
it was yesterday: the record at the time was held by Jeannie
Longo who achieved a speed of 46.352 km/h in Mexico City
in 1989. This record remained undefeated for the next six
years. Right after Christmas, my trainer told me I was going to
attack this record. At first, I thought he was kidding. I lived in an
enclosed bubble for the next four months. I trained at the track
in Hyères. No road races, just copious amounts of training. A lot
of people did not believe I would make it, as usually this feat is
attempted at your training peak, after a series of build-up races.
My attempt was planned for early in the season. Every test
that I took placed me at around 45 km/h, but everyone kept
telling me that I would be so much faster when we got to the
velodrome in Bordeaux. However, when we got there the track
was in a terrible state! The wood was wet and it felt like I was
riding through mud, so the directors of the velodrome decided
to turn up the heating. The wood dried perfectly. Race day arrived and the surface was hard as rock. I simply flew that day.”
And fly she did – driven by a large crowd of fans, Catherine
smashed the record at a speed of 47.112 km/h. At just 24 years
old, Catherine became the youngest holder of the World Hour
Record ever. She then continued to make a name for herself by
racing and winning titles across the globe.
managing the center, I also gave spinning
lessons.” But the contract ended last year.
“While I was looking for a new challenge, I came across a vacancy for the
position of National Women’s coach at
the Danish Cycling Union. I applied, was
hired, and now I am responsible for the
National teams, both Elite and Junior, and
new talent development. We have just
started a program geared towards the
Olympics to be held in Tokyo in 2020.
With my experience as a cyclist, I want
to teach the girls what it takes to be an
athlete. This includes: how to train, what
to eat, how to take care of yourself, how
to handle pressure, and so much more.”
“Cycling has developed and evolved
quickly in a short period of time,” she
comments. “The sport of cycling has
become so much more professional.
Women’s racing has grown exponentially,
and when you look at teams like Rabo/
Liv and Orica-AIS, you can clearly see
the resemblance to the male teams they
originated from. When I started out,
there were only a few teams around and
we mostly rode with our national team.”
The development of cycling teams has
made her job more difficult as a national
team coach. “It can be very hard to get
the girls together while they ride for their
sponsor teams. Sometimes they aren’t
available for their national team meetings
and training sessions. Now I know what
the national coaches are talking about
when they say they their riders are only
available in the week before the Worlds.”
Since the birth of her son two years ago,
Catherine has not had much time to
be an active cyclist herself. “I would go
for a run to keep myself healthy and fit,
but now that my son is older, I want to
pick up my cycling again. I really miss it. I
would like to do nothing more than just
go out and ride my bike.” Catherine is
happy to see that cycling is common in
Denmark. “It is a way of getting around,
just like in my youth. The infrastructure
for cycling is great. The next small step,
then, is getting on a racing bike. From
there, talented cyclists will start riding
GranFondos or cyclosportive events, and
that’s where my job as a talent scout and
coach starts,” she says with a smile on
her face.
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography
CyclingPhoto.dk
Photography
- Text
Text Harry Ruiterkamp
Past...
past and present
69
portret
Days of our lives
the soigneur
Swanny, Carer, Verzorger, Soigny.
These are a few names you will
hear us being called in the peloton.
Our actual title is soigneur. A soigneur takes care of a cyclist’s daily
needs. He or she tries to make the
cyclist’s life a bit easier and simpler
by providing food, drinks, massages,
transportation, and first aid. Not
an easy job. In fact, often their tasks
remain invisible to many. Sure, you
might notice a soigneur at the side
of the road in the ‘feeding zone’,
the area where the cyclists are
allowed to take a bottle or a bag
of food. Most of the time, this is
the only area where the swannies
are visible to the public. When the
race is over and the crowd goes
home, the job of the soigneur
continues.
Hotel job
Our preparations start by arriving
at the hotel a day or so before
the race, in order for us to pick
our hotel rooms. We choose the
optimal location for our work and
for the cyclists. Saving energy by
choosing rooms close to the truck
or wherever we need to carry out
our duties keeps us a bit fresher.
We also want to be close to the
riders’ rooms so they don’t need
to walk a long way or up flights
of stairs to reach us. An average
soigneur can walk 5 to 8 km a
day and remain on his or her feet
for 6 to 8 hours, so a strategic
room location and good shoes are
imperative!
>>
Photography - Text -
Photo Sean Robinson
When the stars of the daily cycling show are on the podium with
the cup and flowers in their hands, everyone knows them – pictures
are taken and videos are produced about them. They’re depicted as
hard working women who give their lives for the sport. But hardly
anyone notices the other hardworking men and women who ensure
that the women on the bike only have to think about their sport:
the swannies! Gerard Spierings, soigneur at Rabobank-Liv, explains
what he and his colleagues do to support these top athletes.
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If we have a stage race, then the first
thing we do (after the room picking) is to
haul all of the riders’ and staff ’s suitcases
to the rooms. We place water bottles in
their rooms, so when the riders return
from a hard race day, they simply can lie
on their bed, drink as much fluid as possible, wait for their massage and recover.
After suitcases, we check with the hotel
for towels and sheets to be used during
massages. We use fresh towels and
sheets from the hotel.
One of the biggest challenges we face
is arranging food and satisfying meal
preferences. A typical rider meal has soup
and salad with lots of vegetables, bread,
pasta or rice. For protein, we like to eat
chicken, fish, or non-fat beef. For dessert,
we need yoghurt for the riders – the
staff usually prefers something sweeter
and sugary! Why is food a challenge?
Well, if we stay in the hotel for a couple
of days, we want variety in our diets and
the healthiest choices for our riders and
staff. In most southern European countries, this is often difficult.
Shopping
As a solution to bad hotel food, we go
shopping. Not for clothes and other
nice things, but for the best water, drinks,
fruit, sandwiches, and snacks. Shopping in
a foreign country is interesting and fun.
We get to see some of the country’s
sites, villages, and cities, and we meet an
enormous variety of local people and
characters. Most of the time however, we
don’t have the time to really get to know
the people we meet, as our schedules
are bound by time – the riders need to
be picked up from the airport shortly, or
we need to do their massages. But being
able to find balance, keeping a smile,
and enjoying the day makes this job a
wonderful calling.
At this point, the riders have arrived (or
one of us picks them up), the food and
snacks are in place, and the rooms are taken care of. Now we do a pre-race massage or flush. A flush is a light massage to
refresh the legs and muscles. Sometimes,
for riders who’ve had serious training
or travel, the massage can be a bit more
portret
intense or specific. For example, sitting in
an airplane for five hours takes a toll on
the gluteus. They take a beating and need
to be reshaped and realigned. Similarly,
hard interval training a few days before
a race requires good treatment of the
quadriceps and hamstrings. Our aim is to
prepare the rider the best possible way.
Race day!
While our athlete friends are still sleeping
and are in recovery mode, we prepare
for the day to come. On average we prepare six bidons, or bottles, per person for
a normal length race. Most of the time
this is a mix of hypotonic mineral drink
and carbo (energy) drink. Compared to
men who seem to drink a lot more, most
women’s bodies seem to have a more
efficient system of fluid management.
This has, however, no scientific or medical
foundation…it’s a mere observation of
drinking habits between the two genders
having worked with men and women. In
addition to fluids, we prepare a variety
of race snacks. A race snack can give the
Photo Natasja Koops Dubbeld
rider that little extra boost. We make
pudding buns, rice cakes, or carbohydrate cakes. We also have fun making it as
tasty as possible. It is always nice to get
a compliment from the rider that they
had a nice snack during the race. The fact
that we give the riders some choices
and variety other than the usual energy
bars and gels gives them more incentive
and tendencies to eat a bit extra.
As race time nears, the riders do their
final preparations, and so do we. We
check the food and cars – is there
enough fuel to get through the day? It’s a
bit embarrassing to realize that you don’t
have enough fuel to get you through
the day, but every year it happens to
someone!
Photo Anton Vos
We try to decipher where the feeding
zone is located. Sometimes it’s a challenge as organizations forget to put in
the race information guide, or it’s so
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complex that a university degree is needed to solve the puzzle. Furthermore,
for feeding outside the feeding zone, you
risk being fined or the rider gets slammed with a time penalty.
Once the race has started, most swannies make a dash to the feeding zones to
claim the best places. A good spot along
the road for handing bottles to riders
can be a decisive factor in the race result
for a particular rider. Equally important is
the proper transfer of bottles from the
swanny to the riders. Inevitably, things go
wrong here.
Riders, bottles, and sharing the pavement
go hand in hand. It’s always a stressful
situation amplified by swannies who
encroach toward the middle, or even
other half of the road. A tired and dehydrated cyclist must maneuver around us,
while either catching or holding a bottle.
Improvement can and should be made
here.
Having said that, many female riders
use this section of the race to attack. In
the men’s peloton, such a breach would
never happen. It’s dangerous and unfair.
When the feeding is done, we jump
into our cars to meet at either the next
feeding zone or the finish. It can be
challenge to get to the finish on time,
after a distant feeding zone. As a swanny,
you never want to miss a finish – but,
again, this happens every year to a few
of us. Traffic, detours, and riders who
are behind the peloton are all variables
that factor into our goal to reach the
finish on time. In last year’s Giro Rosa
for example, we had to pass traffic jams,
maneuver around police officers, go into
one-way streets, remove road blocks,
and sometimes go in places that were
really tight to get to the finish. We expect obstacles like these, though, so we
move in the safest but fastest way.
It’s hard work, and at the end of the day,
we are just as tired as the riders!
>>
FEMININMAGAZINE
73
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portret
Photography Sean Robinson (p.70) Natasja Koops Dubbeld (p.73-74) en Anton Vos (p.72)
Text Gerard Spierings
His motto: Keep working, it keeps
you young!
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dealer
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je dealer
www.lakecycling.com
Photo Natasja Koops Dubbeld
Gerard Spierings is (together with
John van den Broek) the soigneur
for the Rabobank-Liv women’s
team. After 18 years of working
as mechanical/industrial engineer, he traded in his computer,
calculator, and paperwork to
pursue a hobby, massaging for
cycling teams. Being a mountain
biker and amateur cyclist, he
wanted to stay in the sport that he
loves so much. Six years ago, the
opportunity arose to work full time
for the Skil Shimano men’s cycling
team. He has taken many courses
and done many trainings to keep
abreast with new developments in
the ever changing para-medical
world.
We are steps away from the finish line
to catch our riders. During the last couple of kilometers of the race, the riders
do not drink or eat anymore. Most of
the time, they actually throw away their
bottles to be as light as possible for the
last climb or sprint. Right after the race,
we meet the riders and hand them a
sugary drink. Their blood sugar level is
so low after the race that they need to
have something sugary to bring it back
up. Then, we send them toward the
team’s bus, camper, or car that will take
them back to the hotel.
After the race, an abundance of recovery is presented to the riders, ranging
from yoghurt, rice, fruit, protein bars,
protein drinks or an old fashioned healthy and hearty sandwich. Here we really
put our imagination to work, even with
a low budget and a short period of time,
to put something tasty together. The creativity is a high point of our interesting
job – as is rewarding feedback when a
cyclist says (with his or her mouth watering): “…wow, that’s a nice sandwich”.
Massage
Finally, we have post-race massages. This
is, for most riders, is the moment to destress. It’s a time in which they lay down,
relax, and absorb the energy of the
recovery massage. On the other hand,
their muscles are often tight and fatigued,
so naturally a deep sport massage is not
always relaxing. We have had riders falling asleep on our tables but also those
who perspire from the intensity of the
massage.
Many of you can recall a moment or two
when a massage table and its operator
seemed more like surgery without anesthetics, or a time when you wanted to
ask your soigneur for something to bite
on to avoid kicking them away from you.
Nevertheless, this post-race massage is
an essential detail in speeding up recovery. The hard knots and tightened muscles
need to be revived and re-molded into
their original shape and contours. Most
of the time we use specific massage oil,
however, each soigneur has his or her
personal favorite oil, cream, or other
medium (some use baby oil, or even
olive oil). After dinner, most of the riders
return to their own room and recover in
their own way. Reading a book, watching
TV, listening to music, or talking with
other riders and eventually…they go to
sleep.
For us though, the day is not over yet.
We wash the race clothes, restock, clean,
go shopping (again), ice our bidons,
travel to other hotels or airports, and
many, many, more small tasks. When the
sun has said goodnight to many, we tend
to put in some more hours to get the
job done. It’s hard work, and at the end
of the day, we are just as tired as the
riders. It’s rewarding, has lots of variety,
obstacles and challenges, but unquestionably we strive to make life better for
the riders.
And tomorrow? Tomorrow the adventure starts again. F
EXPERIENCE
THE ULTIMATE FIT
FEMININMAGAZINE
Advertentie Lake CX401.indd 1
27-02-14 15:06
Lensworld-Zannata
The UCI has 33 international teams listed as a ‘professional women’s team’.
Some teams are bigger than others, but they all share the same drive to perform and
win races. Some have companies that sponsor them for financial reasons; others have
sponsors who support their teams just for love the game. No matter the size or reason
of the partnership, we’re seeing the sport we love grow. In every issue of Feminin
Magazine, we visit an international UCI women’s team.
In this edition we visited the blue and
white equipe of Lensworld-Zannata. This
Belgian-Dutch team has riders including Kim de Baat, Sofie De Vuyst, Nina
Kessler, Maaike Polspoel and Annelies
van Doorslaer in their ranks. Kim de
Baat was recently identified as one of
the leading players in the Dutch national
road race (unfortunately, the race turned
out to be about 10km too long for her).
In Belgium, Sofie De Vuyst enjoyed an
impressive third place finish in the ITT
nationals. and finished third on the road
race. With multiple top ten places in major races and victories in some smaller
races, the Lensworld.eu-Zannata ladies’
cycling team is growing every year.
Young talent
They debuted as a UCI Women’s Team
in 2013. As a newcomer, they were then
named Cycle Live Plus-Zannata Ladies’
Team. Team owner and sports director
Heidi Van De Vijver took the initiative
to create a platform for young talent
to perform and gain experience at the
highest level of women’s cycling. Van De
Vijver, the multiple-time national Belgian
champion on road and ITT, rode most of
her career with Topsport Vlaanderen. She
says, “My personal motivation is the continued professionalization for the sport
in general. A woman who steps into
We not only need to
prove ourselves on the bike,
but also with everything surrounding it
cycling does so primarily out of passion.
The many sacrifices she has to give will,
now, not lead to a large financial gain, so
she has to do it out of the love of the
sport. To live your passion, you sacrifice,
you invest, but with a certain target. For
me, this is still the case, but now my
mission is to set up a professional team
after my professional cycling career. My
goal is to help young girls grow and give
them experience and gradually grow to
a big and successful team.”
In 2013, the team immediately became
a leading cycling team in terms of image,
appearance and team structure. Looking
at their website, you can see instantly
that communication is high on their list.
They post timely updates, have pictures
available, and even sell their replica
sets online. Van De Vijver believes this
is the way to attract new partnerships
in cycling. “We not only need to prove
ourselves on the bike, but also with
everything surrounding it. It all starts
with a good website. This is the first
stop if someone is looking for you,”
says Van De Vijver. She adds, “We also
make sure to minimize opportunities for
negative press. The riders stay away from
doing stupid things, so everything stays
positive.”
A year later, in 2014, the Belgian-Dutch
team continued to succeed. They welcomed a new sponsor from The Netherlands, and were known for the next
year as the Futurumshop.nl-Zannata
Ladies Team. With a continued focus on
teambuilding and raising the professional
bar, Van De Vijver and her team enjoyed
more success: with Sofie De Vuyst
finishing sixth in the prestigious Omloop
het Nieuwsblad and later winning the
overall Lotto Cycling Cup, other riders
knew exactly who they were dealing
with now. Futurumshop.nl-Zannata
Ladies Team proved it was a team that
shouldn’t be ruled out.
76
FEMININMAGAZINE
New sponsor
With Futurumshop completing their
support after one year, a new sponsor
knocked on the team’s door to become
the new title sponsor. Contact lens company Lensworld stepped in to support
the team for at least two years, securing
their continuing growth – just what Van
De Vijver wants. Equipment partner Zannata also continues to gives the team the
professional bikes they need to achieve
their goals. “Along with our title sponsors, we also welcome support from
EforBet, Sengers, NM Transport and AO
Smith as additional financial sponsors.
Without their support and effort, we
would not be a professional team. Even
with all of this, sponsorship remains in
our sights - we need the sponsors to
grow.”
Although the team has enjoyed outside
investment and support, Van De Vijver
adds, “I think it is also important that we
keep a positive atmosphere within our
team. If the atmosphere is good, then the
girls are ready to fight for each other, no
matter what. I think this is always been
an important factor in our team. You see
that they would do everything for each
other, during a training, race or even out
of competition.”
“There are riders who seek, financially,
to ride as a full professional. They train,
ride, and live for cycling. There are other
riders who just ride for fun – well, they
want to race, but just for fun. It would be
useful to separate them and to have two
separate competitions.” Segmentation
would create more space for competitive professionals to join teams as
full-time professionals, and competitive
but still elite riders to find the right place
for them – and we’d hopefully see more
dynamic competition in what’s already an
exciting sport. “Women’s races are more
exciting than men’s, in my opinion,” Van
De Vijver says. “Our races are shorter,
so from the moment that flag drops, we
fight for positions – not just our team,
but all the riders. That’s so cool to see.”
With support and excitement abounding, Van De Vijver echoes the sentiment
that women’s races need to be on the
same day as men’s races, to capture the
promotion potential. “We’re all a part of
the growth, and we do everything in our
power to support that. The next great
challenges await us in 2015 and 2016,
but with shared passion and enthusiasm
amongst riders and team staff, I am
confident that we’re going to achieve
our goals.” F
Professionals
Van De Vijver and her team are part
and parcel of the growth in professional
women’s cycling. ‘’I think that women’s
cycling has been growing for the last
couple of years. As you see on the UCI
list, there are 33 teams listed. That is
huge! There is, of course, room to improve. There are still big obstacles to tackle
in women’s cycling, like big performance
level differences in teams and riders
because we only have one category for
all of the elite women.” It’s great that
so many women are able to compete
together at the elite level, but that’s not
to say their motivations are all the same.
More info
lensworld-zannata.com
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography Rudi Maenhout (p.76), Thomas Sneyders (p.77)
Text Heidi Van De Vijver
Feminin visits
77
medical
Feminin medical
Wrist Complaints
Nando Liem has been working as sports
and ortho-manual physician in the SJG Weert
at SMA Mediweert. He is the former team
doctor of Vacansoleil-DCM and now fulfills
that same position at the continental team
Torku Seker. www.mediweert.nl
Ingrid Janssen is a manual and sports
podiatrist associated with Profysic and is specialized in cycling consultation. She was the
sports podiatrist and memeber of the (para)
medical support team of Vacansoleil-DCM pro
cycling team. www.profysic.nl
ibuprofen or naproxen, help to reduce
the symptoms. Sometimes surgery is
needed, but luckily, usually not. You can
prevent this injury by trying to place less
pressure on the handlebars and avoid
overstretching when riding on the drops.
feeling tingling or numbness after repositioning your hands on the handlebar
or even after your ride, our suggestion
would be to go see your physician to
have it checked out.
Chris Brands is a sports scientist and former professional triathlete. He is specialized
in training consultancy and biomechanics of
cycling positions. Chris helps several professional cyclists and triathletes.
www.fietsmeting.nl
When a novice cyclist has an ache or injury, it is usually about their knees, pelvis, back, or neck.
But as you ride more, then you can also have aches in your hands and wrists. Wrist pain can come
from holding your handlebar the wrong way or using material that is not suited for your body
style. The resulting tingling feeling can be really annoying during a training, and even painful
during a race. What’s more, because you hardly change positions during a race, you might
experience loss of strength in your hands leading to a loss of control in steering, changing gears,
or even braking. It’s really important to remain pain free on your bike, even in your hands.
The hand is a complex set of tightly connected bones, tendons, muscles and nerves which, together, enable small intricate
movements. An injury to only one small
part of it therefore has a great effect on
the function of the entire hand. Approximately one third of all bike injuries
are hand problems, and most of these
injuries are the result of a crash such as
abrasions, bruises or fractures. However,
78
FEMININMAGAZINE
other cases are the result of a chronic
problem or strain rather than a crash.
A common chronic problem is nerve
constriction. During a bike ride, your
hands rest on the handlebars and are,
along with your feet on the pedals and
rear on the saddle, the contact points
that support you on the bike. Depending on your riding position, there may
be quite a lot of pressure and weight
on your hands. The two most common
hand injuries for riders are ulnaropathy
or handlebar palsy, and carpal tunnel
syndrome.
Ulnaropathy
A “real” cycling injury is called ulnaropathy, to riders also known as “handlebar
paralysis”. Ulnaropathy is caused by compression of the ulnar nerve, which runs
near your ulna bone, through your hand
and wrist on the little finger side (see
fig.1). The ulnar nerve controls the most
movements in your hand and provides
the feeling sensation in your ring and
little fingers.
The entrapment is the result of the direct pressure placed on the nerve when
supporting your hands on the handlebar.
Also, the stretching of these nerves leads
to such symptoms, which may be caused
by riding on the ‘drops’ (the lower part
of the handlebar, red.) The pressure or
strain on the nerve results in numbness
and tingling of the ring finger and little
finger and/or loss of strength in your
hand. It may take several days or even,
occasionally, months, for the symptoms
to completely disappear. Rest, stretching and anti-inflammatories such as
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is another
overuse injury that riders suffer from,
but less so than ulnaropathy. Symptoms
are caused by the upper gripping of the
handlebar, which causes pressure on the
nerve that runs down the inside of your
hand: the median nerve. Pressure on the
median nerve may cause numbness and
tingling in the thumb, index, middle, and
ring fingers (see fig.2). Unlike ulnaropathy, these symptoms disappear quickly
after riding. Although pressure on the
handlebars is the most likely cause of this
injury with cyclists, it can happen after
sustaining impact during a crash. If you’re
How to prevent these injuries
There are some simple things you can
do to prevent these wrist complaints.
Just like the other muscles in your body,
you can start by stretching your hands
and wrists prior to a ride or race. While
on the bike, be aware of your position
and weight distribution. When you ride
with your hands on top of your handlebar, try to position your hands so that
you will have more pressure to the
outside of your hands. If you ride in the
drops, make sure not to place all the
pressure on the outside – instead, try
to shift the weight more to the inside of
your hands. You don’t want all of your
bodyweight to be on your hands – just
use your hands on the handlebar to
control the direction of the bike.
You can also make some minor adjustments to your handlebars like using
thicker handlebar tape to give you a bit
better shock absorption on the road. You
can also reduce pressure on your hands
by wearing padded gloves. Also, make
sure to take rest breaks during long
rides (which of course is more difficult
when you are racing) and change hand
position regularly.
Wrist complaints, however, can not
always be solved by adjusting your position on the bike or changing equipment.
Adjusting your position might just move
an issue to a different part of your hand
or wrist, but still causing strain. Beyond
some quick-fix adjustments, you may
need to slowly train, and increase your
wrist strength to avoid further strain. F
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography Wouter Roosenboom
Text Nando Liem, Ingrid Janssen, Chris Brands
Do you sometimes experience numbness, tingling or pain in your arm, hand,
wrist or fingers? If you answer with a
‘yes’ here, then you could be suffering
from strain on your wrist, caused by a
compression of one of the nerves in
your hand. With some adjustments to
your bicycle and adopting some protective equipment, those complaints can be
resolved.
79
UCI Race Calendar
calendar
July - August
July
August
DateRoad RaceCountryUCI Classe
Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile ITA 2.1
3-12 Jul
CZE 2.2
9-12 Jul Tour de Feminin - O cenu Českého Švýcarska White Spot / Delta Road Race WE CAN 1.2
12 Jul FRA 2.2
16-19 Jul Tour de Bretagne Féminin NED 2.2
17-19 Jul BeNe Ladies Tour GER 2.1
17-23 Jul Internationale Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen La Course by Le Tour de France FRA 1.1
26 Jul DateRoad RaceCountryUCI Classe
Erondegemse Pijl (Erpe-Mere) BEL 1.2
1 Aug Sparkassen Giro GER
CDM
2 Aug UEC Road European Championships
EST CC
6-8 Aug La Route de France FRA 2.1
8-16 Aug Ladies tour of Norway NOR 2.2
14-16 Aug Crescent Women World Cup Vårgårda TTT SWE CDM
21 Aug Trophée d’Or Féminin FRA 2.2
22-26 Aug Crescent Women World Cup Vargarda SWE CDM
23 Aug GP de Plouay-Bretagne FRA CDM
29 Aug July Aug
DateMTB RaceCountryUCI Classe
World Cup DHI & XCO Lenzerheide SUI CDM
5-6 Jul
LUX
1
11-12 Jul BeNeLux Cup Alzingen
Nationale Kampioenschappenalle
CN
17-19 Jul
ITA
CC
20-16 Jul Europese Kampioenschappen XCO, XCE & XCR
DateBMX RaceCountryUCI Classe
NED
CC
10-12 Jul UEC European Championships in Erp
BEL
CM
21-25 Jul World Championships Heusden-Zolder
DateTrack RaceCountryUCI Classe
GRE CC
14-19 Jul UEC Junior & U23 European championships, Athens
DateMTB RaceCountryUCI Classe
World Cup DHI & XCO Mont-Sainte-Anne CAN CDM
1-2 Aug
World Cup DHI & XCO Windham
USA
CDM
8-9 Aug
2
22-23 AugBeNeLux Cup LandgraafNED
World Cup DHI & XCO Val di Sole
ITA
CDM
22-23 Aug
2
29-30 AugBeNeLux Cup ApeldoornNED
MTB & Trials World Championships AND
CM
31 Aug-6 Sep
DateBMX RaceCountryUCI Classe
15-16 AugWorld Cup EngelholmSWE
CDM
DateTrack RaceCountryUCI Classe
3-6 AugUSA National championshipsUSA
CN
UCI Junior World Championships
KAZ
CM
19-23 Aug
80
FEMININMAGAZINE
FEMININMAGAZINE
Photography Sean
- Text
Robinson
-
81
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Editor in Chief
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Lauren Jacobs (lauren@femininmagazine.nl)
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Photographers
Sean Robinson, Mathilde Dusol, Natasja KoopsDubbeld, Anton Vos, Niels Goudriaan, Sam Wiebe,
Wouter Roosenboom, Tara Gins, Cyclingphoto.dk
Distribution www.femininmagazine.nl
Cover Photo Sean Robinson
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Many thanks to:
Kasia Niewiadoma, Scotti Lechuga, Lucy Garner,
Lars van der Haar, April Marshke, Sarah Storey,
Roxane Knetemann, Loes Gunnewijk, Rozanne Slik,
Leah Kirchmann, Anna van der Breggen, Anouk
te Molder, Michelle Janssen, Tara Gins, Sophie van
Bakel, Harry Ruiterkamp, Marieke Kerkvliet, Gerard
Spierings, Ingrid Janssen, Nando Liem, Chris Brands,
Ingrid Bøe Jacobsen, Sarah Colpo, Heidi Van De
Vijver
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