Bike Hugger 

Video from a French TV investigation of motor doping finds it’s more prevalent than previously suspected. No surprise to us, as we shared earlier this year when motor doping at CX Worlds was discovered. In a sport with zero credibility, up to them to prove it’s not true.

By now, you’ve probably read or heard that the UCI suspended their disc brake experiment. They did so after a racer at Paris-Roubaix was seriously injured, he said by a rotor. Following the suspension, I wrote a rant on Medium Bicycles, taking the industry to task for this; how you say, “shitshow?” Or, an even simpler way to put it is, this shit is bananas.

Try it yourself and know that because no new molds are being opened for caliper-brake bikes, there is an unprecedented flurry of activity in Taiwan right now. The economic costs of the suspension and bad PR are probably worse the hydro failure at CX Natz and subsequent recall.

And, if you prefer…a GIF too.

The fix? A wider, less sharp rotor or a cowling, like they should’ve done from the onset of road discs. Expect a new, safety disc ASAP.

And the buyers of bicycles, they sure ain’t no hollaback girl.

HT to @Crosssports for the banana/rotor idea.

So much great content from this years Paris-Roubaix, but don’t miss then onboard, POV highlights. Also see the Piecing Together a Paris-Roubaix Title from Scott.

Kramon, TWDsport.com

Unrelenting

On Medium Bicycles this morning, shared a story about the Wilier Triestina GTR Team Disc. That’s an Italian “adventure” bike and built for all-day endurance. I’ll share another story about it later this month in Issue 35 of our magazine…for now, here’s a bit of what I had to say

When it comes to bike design, youth knows no pain, and up until now, carbon bikes were made as stiff as possible. As carbon technology enters its 30s, being a bit older and wiser, that supposed to hurt belief has given way to preferring an all-day experience, and wherever the route may take you off or on road. Sorta like how instead of wingtips, you’re ok wearing loafers now, or no more neckties.

Also see more photos on Instagram, like this one.

And, the @wilierusa @wiliertriestina GTR Team Disc close up. Read the story today on medium.bikehugger.com and thanks to @martingisborne for the editing help.

A photo posted by Byron (@bikehugger) on Apr 12, 2016 at 2:56pm PDT

Always happens like that, just when I’m burned out and cynical about the sport, a race like the 2016 edition of Paris-Roubaix happens. An unexpected, lucky win, and on a bike I’ve ridden, and raved about. Right? Scott’s PR shared the backstory and video from ORICA-GreenEDGE above. Riding a smart race all day, Hayman proved to be the strongest in a sprint of five, after a grueling 253 kilometers. The 37-year old ORICA-GreenEDGE veteran riding his 15th Paris-Roubaix, made all the right decisions in a race where everything can go wrong than. His first smart move was to jump into a break that formed after about 70 kilometers of racing and stayed there.

“I didn’t have to surge to get in position before the cobbled sectors, I just had to make sure I saved as much energy as possible while being in the front group,” Hayman said after the race. “Everybody that has ridden Paris-Roubaix knows it’s one of those rare races where being in an early break can get a rider a good result.”

When pre-race favorites caught up to Hayman’s group, Hayman was he let the others work

They knew I was in the breakaway during large parts of the race. I was able to just sit there and save energy,” the ORICA-GreenEDGE rider commented after the race.

I’ve had enough bad luck in Paris-Roubaix in the last fifteen years. Everything went right today, I was in a good place mentally, I was relaxed and I was trying not to put pressure on myself.

Then we all know what happened next….

About the Bike

Hayman won Paris-Roubaix on a Scott Foil Team Issue. While the first Foil was super stiff and not very comfortable, the engineers at Scott invested a lot of time in order to improve the comfort of the new Foil. Did Hayman win cause he was less fatigued? Perhaps, sure didn’t hurt, and I know when I rode the Foil, I appreciated how fast and compliant it was.

See my review of the Foil in Issue 32 of our Magazine. And, congrats again, for such a huge win for Hayman, his team and Scott.