EF Education First, which owns and operates the WorldTour team EF Education-Nippo, has today announced it will be running a coaching service for aspiring racers, keen amateurs or anyone who wants to take their cycling to the next level. The service applies the team's knowledge in training, nutrition and tactics to give riders a pro level of expertise.
All profits of the programme will be reinvested back into the team, making EF Education-Nippo partially self-funded. "We want to teach people. How to ride a bike better. How to meet their goals. And maybe we’ll find a few undiscovered talents capable of reaching the professional ranks along the way," EF Education-Nippo CEO Jonathan Vaughters said.
"More people are riding their bikes than ever, and we thought the time was perfect for us to share what makes this team’s performance philosophy so special with more people. We also want to change the way the professional cycling business works. We want to have a team that supports itself on some level so we can keep doing things our way.”
We're all suffering some Tour de France blues today. Cast your minds back and pick your favourite storyline from this year's edition...
PRiDE OUT, an inclusive cycling group for LGBTQIA+ people across the UK, has called on the government and Cycling UK to ensure that a greater share of funds reaches LGBTQIA+ cyclists. The group has launched a petition calling for "a much fairer slice of the cake" in the hope that a minimum of 15 per cent of all government funding to Cycling UK and similar organisations will be guaranteed to reach LGBTQIA+ people, groups and organisations in cycling.
Pain is temporary, glory lasts forever...or at least until the dreaded 'Uh oh!' email drops in your inbox. That, along with a probable sore head, is what newly crowned Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar is waking up to this morning.
Just three days after the Slovenian blitzed the KOM for the final 100m of Luz Ardiden our very own Liam Cahill has done the impossible...Alright, Tadej...You've got your yellow jerseys, stage wins, flight to the Olympics, six-year contract with UAE Team Emirates and the rest of it but we've got Espriña Luz Ardiden-en KOM...so who's the real winner?
At this time we can't confirm if Dave B has been on the phone asking about Liam's availability for a little three-week 'get-together' in France next July...Has Tadej finally found his match?
The Oxford Mail spoke to locals about the success of Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes in the Cowley area of the city. A number of residents told the paper the LTNs had encouraged them to make more journeys by bike or on foot.
Brian Fahy said it had helped change his family's attitude to getting to school each day. "It has prompted discussions about how we impact the earth, as well as how cycling is a health benefit," he explained. "Thanks to all the walking and cycling up and down Church Hill Road, I lost about 10 pounds in the first month or so. I feel healthier and I am enjoying the walk more and more. We all are. And our carbon footprint is changing for the better."
Another local parent, Martha Crocket added: "My kids now cycle to school as a result of the LTNs and I cycle rather than drive to Black Bird Leys leisure centre. All the roads to Littlemore felt unsafe with the kids in a trailer so I used to take the car – but now there is a safe route."
Current LTN trials in Cowley will run until November before a decision is announced on whether they should be made permanent, reversed or the trial period extended. Another LTN trial in the east of Oxford is to be decided at the end of the month.
📸 Respect speed limits. 😉
📸 Attention aux limites de vitesse. 😉#TDF2021pic.twitter.com/kGg2YC3lWN
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 18, 2021
Friday's Richmond Park police officer would approve of this one. Cyclists getting flashed by speed cameras — can't say I've ever managed to set one off but it's a real moment of pride when your speed pops up on one of those roadside vehicle activated speed signs.
I wonder if the teams get special dispensation or if the race organisation pays the fines when team cars are snapped?
Back in 2012, a Welsh cyclist gained YouTube fame by hurtling downhill in an attempt to get picked up by a 30mph camera...
While in 2018, a cyclist in Kiel, Germany, returned the favour and flashed a speed camera as it flashed him for pedalling past in his birthday suit at 47km/h...The man wearing just his shoes escaped a fine as police could not identify him...
🇫🇷 #TDF2021
Victory approved by Mr. Merckx✔️ pic.twitter.com/9Y1qKoivbi
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) July 17, 2021
Worth taking a minute to remember Wout van Aert won a time trial, the Ventoux stage and the Champs-Élysées sprint all in 12 days. He will now head off to Tokyo to try and add a couple of Olympic medals to that tally...
Speaking about Merckx, Van Aert said: "I'm just a really little cyclist compared with Eddy. I'm just proud of my own performances." Three stages of the Tour isn't a bad return for "a really little cyclist"...
It’s isn’t an official award, but maybe it should be? Not sure if he was joking, but @chrisfroome said the ASO gave it to him. Well deserved. @NBCSNCycling pic.twitter.com/flf4fOFZgY
— Steve Porino (@sporino) July 18, 2021
Chris Froome did not leave the Tour empty-handed after all...ASO awarded the four-time winner a new prize for the 'nicest and most polite Tour de France rider'. And despite not getting to step on the podium, Froome did get a celebratory face mask...I bet he can't wait to get that framed and up on the wall in Monaco...
Might not be a yellow jersey, but my Mum would be proud 🥲
Thank you @LeTour💛 #TDF2021https://t.co/PSdrDNtEMT— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) July 18, 2021
On the bike the 36-year-old suffered his worst ever Grand Tour result (ignoring the ones he crashed out of)...ninth last and more than four hours down on Tadej Pogačar. On the plus side, Froome saved his second best stage result for Paris, finishing 90th and in the main bunch.
But maybe that's the point of ASO's award? Froome has put up with reporters, fans, ...live bloggers' questions and comments about his waning abilities with dignity and a smile, when he probably could have been forgiven for storming off like, I don't know, a disgruntled presenter on a morning TV news programme.