Born in Autodromo, Italy in 1900, Valentino Spedici Zippicelli was a revolutionary in the sport of cycling in beginning with his first use of balsa wood rims to replace much heavier beech or pear wood rims then popular at the time. He followed this up with the use of large balsa wood lug gussets that allowed his bicycles to be built more than one kilogram lighter than others of the era and later allowed for the first aerodynamic shaping of bicycle frames.

Zippicelli went on to dominate mountain stages of local races and ultimately dominate the 1929 Tour de France with his groundbreaking 110mm deep balsa wood rim, made by laminating balsa wood with epoxy resin, which had been invented only two years earlier in the America.

However, this advance in technology triggered a firestorm of controversy during the 1929 Tour after Zippicelli gained over one hour on his rivals during the 366km stage from Perpignan to Marseille. The final straw was Zippicelli's shattering of the hour record during the weeks following the Tour, where he used his super wheels to break the record in only 52 minutes, stopping along the way for a glass of wine.

Not only limited to the Tour de France, Zippicelli's embrace of technological advancement was not shared by governing body of cycling, the ICU, and Zippicelli was stripped of all his 1929 victories and erased from the history books in an attempt to keep cycling ‘pure'.

Zippicelli fled to the US in 1930, settling in Speedway Indiana where he designed and constructed race cars into the late 1980's. In 1989 he founded Zipp Speed Weaponry to bring his auto racing and carbon fiber knowledge into cycling, creating the first full carbon fiber disc wheel, first 3 spoke wheel, and ultimately triggered the 'Superbike' era with his creation of the Zipp 2001 beam bike.

Zippicelli died of a broken heart in 1998 after his bike was again banned from competition in road racing, and was buried at the Speedway, where he continues to turn a steady 90 rpm in his grave to this day.

The inaugural OCBC cycles attracted thousands of cyclists from ALL walks of life to spin in the 40km/20km course. I don’t think the local cycling scene has such massive event before except the annual free runway cycling at Paya Lebar Cycling. Of course it makes a difference to cycling within a military compound and road closures in city with a custom print jersey in the bargain.

During the race pack collection, there was a huge outdoor area beside the F1 pit bldg filled with numerous rows of bike racks, my first instance is whether I am here for IM70.3 or OCBC cycle. Those racks are for overnight  bike parking but eventually it was under utilized compared to IM 70.3 which we don’t have choices any all. Who will park their priced belonging in an unsheltered facility?

The “challenge” (organizer says its challenge rather of a race) was flag off by waves to avoid overcrowding. I humbly signed up for the 2^nd wave which consists of cyclist who can complete 40km within 1 hr – 1hr 15min which is my true TT timing. But to my surprise the 2^nd wave is primary make up of MTBs (no offence on MTB bikers) and some market bikes. I am refused entry for the first wave by the ushers. Eventually I need to by-pass the barriers to join the first wave. Saw Andi and his fellow cattle, at least some familiar faces. Didn’t see big bunch of cycleworx   and ANZA riders at the start line, I guess they might had completed the 50km super challenge. 730am and off we go, now I understand why professional races commenced by rolling start because by the time I cleat on and pass the start line, the front pack riders had speed off and there is absolutely no ways to catch them unless I own an UCI pro tour license. What I can do was to form a chase group to complete the race in decent form and timing, 40km/h at 94% HR once I exit into main road. First 5km I am working on my own until the ANZA train (think it’s the Sat Kranji group) appeared, hop along to conserve precious energy. I doubt I can maintain 40km/h for 40km even on my TT rig with aero helmet, so in road race I need to maximize any draft opportunity.

Some of us took turn to share the load, 2^nd group is only 400m away from our 3^rd group. Eventually we are 150m away from the 2^nd group at ECP U- turn point in the cycling path. But at the cycling path we faced crap, the path is curvy especially in road race conditions, pedestrians on the side and sighting distance is at stake. Worse of all road marshals were not stationed at some sharp turns, as for some junctions the marshals were not doing their job and we were left to guess which direction to go. Well at 37km/h in a cycling path, reaction time is very limited. This is nothing new for local races where road marshals failed their responsibilities at critical turns. We consecutively lost time at the turns and we lost the 2^nd group, all efforts were in vain. History repeated at national stadium car park.

34km mark (according to my speedo) and its time to recharge for final charge at finish line. Not much cyclists were willing to take the lead at this point, either they were thinking likewise or they were tired. Pace drops and we start to lose momentum. I remembered an article which emphasis on the importance of team mates and every successful rider achieve their peak with support of a solid team, in situation like this one needs a team to set up a sprint opportunity for their key sprinter and shut the race down whenever possible. Short of team support and distance markers I am unable to predict what’s going to happen; out of the tunnel and final turn I gave my all, to my surprise the finish line is 500m ahead and its hard to redeem my effort, 2 riders went past me at last 200m..Now I appreciate the fact that in pro races, the star sprinters only appear at the last few hundred meters after being well sheltered by their team mates, no wonder they have so much power to sprint at 70km/h towards the line.

Some quick snaps with the BMC cattle and back to K hub with Rachel. Thanks b for your support.

Thumbs Up

1. Nice toilets at F1 pits, large enough to bring my bike in
2. Good event for recreational riders
3. Good effort to increase awareness of cycling
4. Nice complementary jersey
5. Nice race venue
6. Drinks stations are at separate lanes, riders must dismount to collect their drinks. Safe environment for beginners.

Needs improvement

1. Organizer should open up all toilets instead of 1 per pit lot
2. Road Marshals must take their role seriously
3. Rolling starts
4. Site layout is not spectators friendly. One side of the finishing chute is occupied by VIP tents.
5. Participation fee is pretty high..Especially for the 50km super challenge. Prize money should be allocated for 50km and 40km challenge. Reward them for the hard work
6. Pretty confusing route

Tks b for your support and being there for me. Plus the pics too = )

Gentlemen's Rides

When and where possible we’ve invited customers and friends of Rapha to ride with us. Invariably the question of pace and ability comes-up. Just like it does over coffee at 7:30 in the morning before every Rapha Continental Ride. The same way it does moments before the beginning of every group ride that’s ever transpired – with everyone straddling their top tubes and stretching and waiting for the guy who’s always late. As the route is being finalized, in the midst of complaints about legs or lack of sleep the way old people do, it’s agreed. Today is a friendly ride. Today we ride together.

Typically things for the first few minutes or miles are slow and easy just like it was discussed. Talk is light, movies seen and movies that would like to be seen. Gossip and ladies-who-lunch chit-chat. Until you collectively round a corner and the horizon and conversation eclipsing buss is finally past and it’s revealed. The first climb of the day. The shift is palpable, almost tangible, and very familiar. This phenomenon is universal and happens almost without fail, it can’t be stopped or denied. It’s what we’ve come to refer to as Gentlemen’s Riding and it’s steeped in decades of tradition and history.

Gentlemen’s Riding is, essentially, racing in a group, any distance and any route, anything that is not a sanctioned race. It’s winning a Cyclo Sportive or a Brevet or Town Limit sign or your local KOM in the middle of Tuesday afternoon ride. Gentlemen’s Riding is REALLY the sexier sounding Gentlemen’s Racing but that honesty is confusing and likely to alienate.

The key word is Gentlemen, not Racing or Riding. And to be even further specific, the key word(s) should be Gentlepeople or Gentlemen and Gentlewomen. It’s the desire to win the unwinnable. It’s a little bit bragging rights. It’s about story telling and local folklore. It’s how riders with different riding abilities and fitness levels ride together. It’s the only way you get faster.

But it’s done with style and class and grace. It’s competition, but not to the exclusion of camaraderie and experience. Because at the top of a climb the group regroups just like the pace-line reorganizes just past the Welcome to Oakridge sign. A Gentlemen’s Ride is a ride with friends and/or a group that begins and ends together. But along the way, when the ride is most challenging, because of elevation-gain, weather, headwinds, exhaustion or whatever, it’s “on”. All bets are off and the order of things is to be decided, again. And again.

It can be an anecdote to racing or a compliment. It can fulfill your desire for victory and your need to push and test against others, but it’s definitely not the same as racing in the traditional sense.

Gentlemen’s Riding is duality at its very finest. As evidenced by the fact that many of the Continental Riders who love this project for it’s commitment to exploration and experience also love the world of racing. A lot.

Gentlemen’s Riding is race-not-racing. It’s cycling. It’s friendly competition. On end of the spectrum it’s a fast group ride and on the other, it’s something like the Ronde, an unsanctioned homage to the Tour of Flanders.

“What I love most about Randonneuring is the cue sheet. Come ride with us, come do this thing with us, but if I drop you or you drop me here are the instructions. It’s a group ride with directions.” – Greg Johnson

Spotted 2 interesting websites and would like to share with you guys.

1. Cannondale Hi-MOD.

Featuring latest high-end products from Cannondale. The 7900 Dura-Ace and Kysrium SL premium equipped Synapse Hi-MOD edition is featured in this issue. Very light bike with a more upright geometry, equivalent to the Cervelo RS.

http://www.cannondale.com/missnovember/

August has been a month like no other for two Kenyan cyclists. Plucked from obscurity in a remote tribal village, Zakayo Ndbri and Mwangi Samwel spent three weeks near Alpe d’Huez as part of one man’s dream to see the first black African take part in the Tour de France.

The village in question is Eldoret. Perhaps not so remote in sporting terms, it is famed for producing some of the greatest long-distance runners of the past. Nick Leong, a Singaporean photographer and investor, travelled there with the intention of finding four riders to train before sending them to Europe where there would be more exposure for the pair.

The aim was to acclimatise the riders before attempting to get as close as possible to Lance Armstrong’s time-trial record (37 mins 36 secs) he set up Alpe d’Huez during the 2004 Tour. Leong's prerogative was that if they got within a few minutes, then professional teams and potential sponsors would surely sit up and take note of what was going on up the famous 21 hairpin-bends.

After negotiating visa problems, Zakayo and Mwangi were based near Alpe d’Huez and it wasn’t long before they started to make a name for themselves. Zakayo, a 26-year-old shoeshine boy, raced up the mountain in 46 minutes to beat a host of semi-professionals in his first European race.

For Leong, watching from the support vehicle and followed by a film crew documenting his project, this was his raw talent ripping apart the field and with energy to spare. The pair looked relaxed and confident as they recuperated at the chalet and there was hope that Zakayo, at least, could shave another few minutes off his time.

He did that in a traditional weekly race a week later, as revealed by the Daily Telegraph in the video. Zakayo soon broke away from the pack and, despite a seasoned racer trying to attack him four times, the Kenyan comfortably won in 42 minutes 10 seconds, while his team-mate also showed his potential with third place. It was the best time accomplished this year from a rider outside the Tour; throw Zakayo’s time into the 2004 race and he would have finished on par with the top 20.

To get this far pays testament to Leong’s dream, but it was nearly wrecked by Kenya’s civil war earlier this year. Zakayo’s hometown was scene to rampant mobs destroying homes and killing up to 50 people, with much of the anger directed at the cyclists’ Kikuyu tribe.

Zakayo managed to escape in time to pick up an air ticket to Singapore given to him by Leong with his family sheltering in a police compound. However, it wasn’t the first time that Zakayo had left his home country. A few months previously, Leong had entered Zakayo into the annual Swissotel Vertical Marathon in Singapore; he subsequently blazed up the 73-storeys of south east Asia’s tallest hotel in a record seven minutes.

If he could endure powering vertically up on two legs then Zakayo could achieve the same on two wheels. Physical and mental fitness certainly isn’t a problem: to earn money for his family, Zakayo cycles a daily round-trip of between 100 and 200 kilometres his small stature and endurance capabilities ideal for tackling the mountains.

So how did it take a Singaporean to invest his time and money in finding a ‘Black Pantani’? The answer comes from a little-known black rider who peaked at the turn of last century. “Major” Taylor began racing in 1896 when he entered a pro bike race in Madison Square Gardens and lapped the entire field in the process, while three years later he won the one-mile at the world championships.

However, his ability to win virtually every race he entered also left a black mark on his career. In his home state of Indiana he was banned from racing thanks to his supreme talent while one race in Massachusetts saw Taylor tackled by an enraged cyclist who left him unconscious in the process. Today, Leong is a supporter of the Major Taylor Association which aims to keep his legacy alive following his death in 1932.

The “Major”, who never rode the Tour de France, would have had sympathy for Kenya’s previous cycling exposure in the press before Zakayo and the 24-year-old Mwangi. During the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, team-mates George and Harry decided to go for a training ride prior to their medal race. A few hours later they were picked up by police after motorists phoned the authorities to explain that two cyclists were riding down the M61 at around 40mph. Unaware of their plight, the Kenyans explained that it was perfectly legal to ride the motorway back home.

The Kenyans’ spirit of adventure doesn’t look like stopping with Zakayo and Mwangi in the saddle either and maybe one day it will be a Kenyan-sponsored team dominating the Alps.