Britain’s biggest online bike retailer Wiggle has teamed up with UK Cycling Events to launch an exciting new Super Series involving 14 events. The series consists of 10 road sportives and four mountain bike events which will take place throughout 2010 and are designed to encourage people of all ages and abilities to “get out and ride”.

With two or three different distances on offer at all events and free entry for under 16s, it is hoped the series will prove popular with families, recreational riders and competitive cyclists alike.

Martin Barden, of UK Cycling Events, said:

“We are hugely excited about the Wiggle Super Series and we’re working hard to ensure this is a truly special series of events. The series is all about encouraging as many people as possible to get on their bikes and have a great time riding. Riders will be able to experience some stunning cycling in some really picturesque areas simply by turning up. Let us do the rest.”

Wiggle’s Paul Bolwell said:

“We can’t wait to see the Wiggle Super Series get under way and we’re looking forward to getting involved with so many superb events.”

The first event of the series is the March Muddy Madness MTB ride, which takes place on March 21 in Storrington.

Other mountain bike events include the Ups and Downs on April 24 in the North Downs, the South Downs Epic on June 27 in Chichester and the Falling Leaves on October 2 in the New Forest. For those who prefer to ride on the road, there’s the New Forest Spring Sportive less than a month later on April 18 or The Ups and Downs on April 25 in Dorking. Two of the 10 road sportives – The Long One, which is a 200km epic on June 26 in Chichester, and the Jurassic Beast on May 2 in Dorchester – are believed to be among the hardest sportives in the country.

Wiggle and UK Cycling Events have signed a three-year deal which will see them working together to ensure every rider has a brilliant event experience. With many of the events based at prestigious venues in beautiful countryside, rider satisfaction is sure to be high. All events will follow clearly signed routes and have well stocked feed stations. There will be free bike wash facilities (courtesy of Mobi) plus cleaning products, accessories, mechanical support, chip timing, event photography, toilets, hot drinks and homemade cakes.

Entries can be made online via the Wiggle website (check out www.wiggle.co.uk) and Wiggle customer discount applies to all purchases, so platinum Wiggle customers will receive 10 per cent off entry.

With events scattered throughout the calendar from March until October, there promises to be something for everyone, to see the full list and to find out more. Visit: www.wigglesuperseries.co.uk or www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk

8th January 2010

Less than 10 days after online entries opened for the 2010 Verenti Dragon Ride all 3500 of the Medio and Grand Fondo places have been filled. That’s a staggering 388 entries registered per day!
The super-fast sell-out comes less than a month after the readers of Britain’s premier cy-cling magazine ’Cycling Weekly’ voted the ride the best sportive in the U.K. for a second year running and ironically, just a single day after the magazine’s editorial column urged riders to get their entries in fast as places were rapidly filling.

“Simply stunning is all I can say,”

comments event organiser Lou Lusardi of BreakAway Cycling,

“we had already read of one prestigious sportive selling it’s quota of 350 in less than a day but to sell 10 times that many entries in less than 10 days is just flabbergast-ing and reflects well on all the efforts we have made to make The Verenti Dragon Ride what it is, the premier sportive in the country.”

BreakAway cycling have temporarily reduced the number of places available on the new Corto or short ride to transfer places to the Grand and Medio Fondo in response to the overwhelming number of requests. The good news for those still wanting to ride the event is that a further, and final, 300 places will be available from midnight on Monday 11th January.

As the popularity of high quality sportive rides continues to grow the 2010 Verenti looks set to be the best yet with expanded start and finish village area, full professional mechanical rider back-up, ample parking and accommodation and a new and exciting partnership with sportive bike brand Verenti, exclusively manufactured and distributed by online retail Giant Wiggle. Secret testing of the new Verenti bikes has already been going on by the press with fantastic feedback and entrants will get the chance to demo the bikes at the Dragon Ride in June.

The Verenti Dragon Ride will take place on 6th June 2010 over 190km, 130km and the new 40km distances starting and finishing at Pencoed Technology Park and encompass-ing over 3000m of climbing for the Gran Fondo.

Full event details can be found at: www.dragonride.co.uk

Contact:
Spokesmen Ltd Tel: +44 7961 765068
e-mail: info@spokesmen.co.uk

Less than 24 hours after online entries for the 2010 Verenti Dragon Ride opened and over a third on the places have been filled by riders keen to be part of Britain’s best loved sportive.

Entry facilities went live on the stroke of midnight on December 28th and by midday on the same day 1200 riders had signed up to take part in the event recently voted by read-ers of ‘Cycling Weekly’ as the best sportive ride in the UK for a second year running.

1200 entries represents a third of the totally available for 2010. In comparison to the same opening period in 2009, entries have doubled in volume over half the period of time, a testament to the strength of the sportive movement and the Verenti Dragon Ride itself.

In an expansion of the Verenti Dragon Ride for 2010 a third short or ‟Corto‟ distance has been added for those wishing life at a slightly less strenuous pace and for those dipping their toes in sportive waters for the first time.

The Verenti Dragon Ride will take place on 6th June 2010 over 190km, 130km and the new 40km distances starting and finishing at Pencoed Technology Park and encompass-ing over 3000m of climbing for the Gran Fondo.

Individual and corporate packages available immediately from £199. Standard entries open online at midnight 27/28th December 2009 with individual entries for the longer rides priced at £30, the new Corto ride can be entered online at £20.

Full event details can be found at: www.dragonride.co.uk

Contact:
Spokesmen Ltd Tel: +44 7961 765068
e-mail: info@spokesmen.co.uk

If you’re looking to add that extra spark to your winter training, look no further than the Lightning 12 off-road endurance run. There’s no better way to stay motivated and keep fit through the cold, dark winter months than knowing you have an awesome challenge awaiting you next spring. The Lightning 12 is a 12-hour off-road endurance run with enough twists and turns to make sure the winter cobwebs are well and truly blown away. Entries for the event, on 21 March 2010, are available now.

Set in the heart of the Malvern Hills, the run takes place in the stunning grounds of Eastnor Castle Deer Park. The course will be as challenging as it is enjoyable, taking in the breathtaking scenery as the 10km route weaves its way up and down the hills and through the park’s dense woodland.

Whether running solo or as part of a team, all competitors will need plenty of grit and determination – as well as a healthy sense of adventure – if they are to cope with the fatigue, changing conditions and hours of darkness they will face. Mental and physical strength will be needed to tackle this unique challenge as runners pit themselves against the clock, the course, the competition and their own personal goals to ensure they reach the finish line 12 hours later.

The Lightning 12 is organised by the team behind this year’s Adidas Thunder Run 24-hour so runners can rest assured they will be well looked after. Ample course marking, a mid-point feed station and plenty of marshals will allow competitors to concentrate on enjoying the challenge and tackling the terrain.

Free camping will be available to all the night before the event. The race will get under way at 9am the following morning.

The event will be supported with excellent facilities including a team of masseurs, clean toilets, hot showers and a fantastic on-site caterer who will be on hand all weekend providing hot and cold food. Timing will be taken care of by ChampionChip electronic timing and all competitors will receive a quality goody bag and commemorative finishing memento to honour their hard work.

Entries are now open for soloists, pairs and teams of five and eight. Please complete the downloadable entry form available at www.provelosupportuk.com or www.runnersworld.com

This Saturday 14th November 11am-8pm 2009, Calshot Activity Center in Southampton, Hampshire will be staging a Wintersports Festival.

The event will feature free climbing, skiing & snowboarding tasters, open sessions and competitions during the day, including dual slalom races and a big air competition.

There will also be some cycling going on during the day at their indoor track.

Wiggle will be attending the event with a great lineup of bikes for you to have a good look at.

Kona Five-O 2009
Focus Northern Lite 2009
GT Performer 2010
wethepeople 4 Seasons 2009
Charge Plug Griffin 2010
Focus Izalco Pista 2009
Tifosi Pista CX Track Bike
Charge Plug Grinder 2009

For more information on the Calshot winter Sports festival and how to get there please follow the link below.

Calshot Winter Sports Festival Sat 14th Nov 2009

Are you ready for the maddest, muddiest run challenges of the Saab Salomon Trail Running Series?

Well if you think you are, check out the Turbo X Pure Filth event in Borden, Hampshire on the 22nd November 2009. So don your Salomons and step up to the challenge!

Click here to enter

Here is some great footage of the awesome Borden Turbo X courtesy of Saab Salomon to get you in the mood, enjoy!

On Saturday I was at Cycle 09 in Earls Court to support my sponsors and take part in some Questions and Answers on stage with fellow cyclists and the world’s leading ladies in their own different disciplines of cycling, Victoria Pendleton (Track Sprint Olympic Champ), Rachel Atherton (Downhill World Champ) and Hollie Avil (Triathlon U23 World Champ).

I got the day off to a great start visiting the Wiggle crew and spending time with visitors and fans answering questions about my experience on the Focus Izalco Chrono and Cayo that I have been riding this year and then also signing some autographs and hearing some of the fans’ own experiences this year. I also got to see the new models for 2010 and if it is possible to improve on the ’09 range there will be some great bikes for you next year! In the last few weeks since my season ended I have been winding down doing some riding but not on my road bike, instead I have been riding a mixture of road and trails on the Focus Mares cross bike, kitted out with Ritchey bars and stem, Sram red and Continental tubs glued on to some prototype wheels being developed for next year by Walser Cycles.

It’s a great carbon fibre frame and although my skills are a little ‘rough’ having not been off road since last winter I felt comfortable on the bike and quickly gained confidence and more speed as I got used to the handling and sliding around on the loose surface.

After the time with Wiggle I was on stage for the first Q&A of the day and had some nice questions from the girls of Herne Hill Youth Cycling Club and, they presented all of us with a club hat which looks smart and has their website on www.hhycc.com [so I will be checking up on you!!] Following that I spent some time with Action Medical Research www.action.org.uk/get_involved/cycling who organised the Ride 24 which I went to this summer and saw for myself how much fun everyone had while helping raise money for a great charity. AM also have a series of 100 Mile events around Britain so check out their website for one locally. I had a nice time to finish off the afternoon at British Cycling and even started one of children’s bike testing ‘races’ or sessions depending on how the children chose to complete their time trying out a variety of different bikes on a small circuit which also tested their skills and speed!

Like every year, when I visited Cycle 09 I also bumped in to a lot of friends and even people who I had not seen for a long time! It was thoroughly enjoyable and I would recommend it to everyone with even the smallest interest in cycling… I say this because on the Adult ‘Bike’ Test Track I saw one person zipping around on a 3 wheel tricycle / scooter with a motor and no pedals what so ever… but it looked a lot of fun and if it helps spread the benefits of cycling then I’m all for it!

Best wishes, Nicole

To view Nicole & Andy’s answers from the Cycle O9 question time session with Wiggle please view the links below.

Question time with Nicole Cooke.

Question time with Andy Walser

On Thursday 8th October 2009 while in London for the Cycle 09 show www.Wiggle.co.uk won the Bike Biz Award for best online cycle retailer of the year 2009!

A massive thank you goes out to the whole Wiggle team and to all our fantastic customers. We really appreciate everyone’s support!

Read the report here.

Cycle 09: Questions with Andy Walser

Here are Andy Walser’s replies to your questions.

1. ‘franc’ says
Q. Did you learn or discover anything by mistake?

A.Of course, most of the times when you try something you discover something that you did not expect would happen. When I did position tests once I had to take the brake away because the cables were too short after we moved the handlebars, then I discovered that it does not matter where the brake is, or if there is a brake or not at the bike. So while others can bring the proof that their brakes behind the forks and covering the brakes is much better, this proof I did not find, not in a wind tunnel and not in a practical test. This accident because of too short cables brings the circumstance now that I do not think it makes much sense to think about covered brakes and things like this.

2. ‘Aaron Cooper’ says
Q. Andy, A lot of attention is given to carbon of late. People brag about their stiffness and compliance at the same time. For the average rider, is there a difference? I ride Titanium right now. I bought it because I heard it’s the best riding material. Now, I hear that carbon rides a lot better.
Also, what aspects of carbon design make it compliant? Some are harsh and stiff, and some soft (think Robaix). Or, am I too caught up in the reviews and should be riding more ;-)

A. I do not think there is a difference between a soft carbon frame and a soft aluminium or titanium frame. You have to make the choice between a stiff frame and a soft frame, it is not possible to have both at the same time unless you fit a suspension. It does not make sense in my eyes to take a stiff material and make soft frames, then I should take a soft material and use this for it’s soft properties.

The biggest place for ‘feeling’ stiffness or softness is more in the seat post and wheels. If you measure how much the frame flexes in the vertical, it is always less than the flex in the wheels, seat post and tyres.

3. ‘Dubber’ says
Q. Andy, what’s on the cards for future frame builds?

A. Together with the athletes I work with I will try to make them faster, I go forward step by step. Since 2000 I have gone forward in this way and most of the time people did not notice.

4. ‘Blender’ says
Q. What influences you to create awesome TT frames?

A. I worked for a Formula 1 team once and I had a bit of experience in carbon fibre, then in 1992 I saw Chris Boardman on his Lotus in Barcelona and I was fascinated by what they have done and I wanted to build something like that too. The spark which finally made me begin a couple of years later came from my friend Michael Rich who is still my test rider today.

5. ‘Eliot’ says
Q. Do you do any TTs?

A. I have done some competitions 15 years ago on an amateur level and I was not the slowest. Today I ride my bike just for pleasure, to enjoy it. And, I have to admit I do not ride TT bikes very often.

Enter Your Questions to Nicole Cooke below in the Comments Section.

The best questions will be picked and proposed to Nicole Cooke while at the Wiggle Stand (E22b) on Saturday 10th Oct at 11am.

Here are Nicole Cooke’s replies to your questions.

Cycle 09: Questions with Nicole Cooke

1. ‘harriet’ says
Q. Why haven’t you been successful in 2009 like you have been in 2008? I did see you at the British Champs and there is seemed to me, you would be able to defend your title in Mendrisio.

A. From outside, 2009 looks a little bit poor, but in fact I won 5 races in including the British Champs and it was not so bad… 2008 was an extraordinary year and at the end of the season I realised I had won everything there was to win in my sport and it looked like the challenge would be to repeat it. But I felt like I wanted something new, not just a repeat, and I had the idea it would be a good thing to have a professional team in Great Britain to help all the young girls come through and follow their dreams in road racing without the difficulties I had at the beginning of my professional career as the lone British rider in Europe.

Once again, I have had to sign a contract in a professional team again for next year but still to today I think it was worth it to try and go a new way, when you see the result of the world champs this year you realise that this idea was not wrong. We need a better system for road racing in Great Britain that helps the young girls. Only the ones who try things can fail, the ones who only sit at home and complain can’t make many mistakes!

2. ‘Dubber’ says
Q. What’s on your ipod Nicole?

A. Mainly when I’m by a computer I’ll listen to Red Dragon FM over the Internet to keep up to date with new music, but right now there’s quite an upbeat mixture I’m listening to: Tinchy Stryder, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Agnes, Flo rider…

3. ‘Blender’ says
Q. Nicole, what are your plans for 2010 & what motivates you?

A. I will be meeting with my team for 2010 this coming week and then I will know how my racing programme will shape up. My target will be to go for the World Champs and try to get that rainbow jersey back! I’m motivated to try and get the best from myself but underlying this is a great love for cycling, just being out riding and enjoying the feeling of cycling under my own power is great!

4. ‘Nicola’ says
Q. I love cycling, what advice would you give to us girls who are keen to about getting involved in racing?

A. If possible you should try and get a group of girls together of a similar ability so that as you all develop your camaraderie will help you get through those difficult moments and you can also share in your successes together. Try to join a club that caters for girls/ladies and also speak to those with more experience to try and learn as much as possible. The best thing to do is not be afraid of trying new things and pushing the limits from time to time!

5. ‘Tristain’ says
Q. What was your most memorable experience this year?

A. The British Champs was a fantastic experience when I remember the atmosphere, the build up in the days before the event especially because it was close to ‘home’ in Abergavenny, all my family and friends who were there and then the actual race itself and the winning feeling having dealt with the climbing and all round strength of Emma Pooley and the sprinting power of Lizzie Armitstead. The crowd really got involved and it was a wonderful day all round.

6. ‘Simsy’ says Via Facebook
Q. Ask Nicole & the ladies how they deal with knee pain?

A. You should try and see a good doctor with sports experience first to get a full analysis of what could be causing the problem. Then, when you know how to treat it, try to do your best to take care with other things you can do yourself like stretching, a short warm up and cool down as you begin rides and keeping your knees warm. Also make sure that your shoes and pedal set up gives your feet a position as close to your natural ‘standing’ position as possible so that stresses around the knee are reduced as much as possible.