Mont Caro in Catalonia may not be well known to cyclists, but that just makes this rugged, remote climb all the more rewarding. The bell tower of the Church of the Rosary in Tortosa Words Trevor Ward Photography Juan Trujillo Andrades Pick a mountain, any mountain. Alpe d’Huez? Add three hairpins and two per cent to its average gradient. Ventoux? Subtract Chalet Reynard and the shop at the summit. Hardknott Pass? Add 11km of distance and 1,100m of elevation. The Galibier or Stelvio? Deduct all the motorised sightseers and overpriced fromage and gelato. What are you left with? Possibly the long ..read more

Inspired by Bicycle Network’s Peaks Challenge, Cyclist ventures to Victoria’s High Country to tackle the iconic 235km loop that includes climbs of Tawonga Gap, Mount Hotham and the back of Falls. But without the time constraints of a single day’s ride, we made sure to sample some of the fantastic (and delicious) local offerings along the way… Henry and Alana set off from Falls Creek to begin the 235km loop Words Henry Yates Photography Nick Esser It was Thursday afternoon. The weekend ahead was going to be my first weekend off in two months, and I was longing for a disconnect to revitalise my ..read more

Pirelli’s latest tyre has all the claims you’d want to improve your speed. Before the P Zero Race TLR RS was even launched, Pirelli couldboast it was ridden to 30 victories and 70 podiums at WorldTour level underneath the Lidl-Trek men’s and women’s teams. The brand burst with pride during this year’s Giro, finally able to say the Race TLR RS is the official tyre of Lidl-Trek. Pirelli has borrowed compound technologies from its motorsport arm to create the SmartEvo2 rubber, which improves grip (and speed) in wet and dry conditions. It has also refi ned the SpeedCore casing to make it lighter ..read more

Already a favourite among gravel riders the Áspero has been updated to make it even more desirable. Words Jack Lynch Cervélo has unleashed its second-generation Áspero on the fast gravel market with a swathe of relatively minor changes, proving the Canadian company’s confidence in this class-leading bike. When the first rendition Áspero launched in 2019 it was an immediate hit and signalled a diversification in Cervélo’s target market. Before the Áspero, Cervélo made bikes exclusively for use on tarmac, with its lightweight road R models, aero S models and time trial P models the bikes that ..read more

CeramicSpeed has introduced many variations of its OSPW (oversized pulley wheel) system to pair with ever-changing rear derailleur designs – the total is now more than 40 – but the OSPW RS represents the first substantial technological update to the product since its introduction in 2015. ‘We began development in 2013, when 10-speed groupsets were the norm,’ says CeramicSpeed’s head of product management, Paul Sollenberger. ‘Bike and derailleur design has evolved quite a bit since then, so in 2021 we started the RS project to align the look with current 12-speed groupsets.’ The new OSPW is di ..read more

You’d be forgiven for thinking waterproof kit may have taken a step backwards when Gore-Tex announced its superb but environmentally unfriendly ShakeDry fabric would be discontinued. But other fabrics have filled the vacuum. Case in point is Pertex’s Shield fabric, which uses a three-ply ‘nanofibre’ structure that claims impressive waterproofing qualities while still being breathable and stretchy. In simple terms, the layers of fabric allow tiny droplets of perspiration out while stopping bigger rain droplets from getting in. Maap has put it to good use in its new Atmos jacket with an outer l ..read more

The New Zealand brand says its Performance+ Race Fuel can be used ‘as a sole source of fuel’ – which is to say it’s the only fuel you’d need on the bike to maintain optimal endurance. And when you consider that an original GU energy gel has 22g, it becomes clear this drink packs a punch. One 98g sachet has 90g of carbohydrate, which it suggests mixing with 450-750ml of water. Performance+ Race Fuel’s potency is thanks to an ingredient called Cluster Dextrin, a complex carbohydrate manufactured from corn starch whose benefits include reduced fatigue and increased recovery. ‘The major contribut ..read more

Trek has paid plenty of attention to its bike lights for some time now with its Ion and Flare range, and now it enters the radar light market with the impressive CarBack. The CarBack features a focused radar that can detect rear-approaching vehicles from up to 240 metres away, as well as a daytime visible light that can be seen by drivers from up to 2km away. This compares favourably with the earlier-to-market Garmin Varia RCT715, which has a maximum radar distance of 140 metres. The CarBack is more compact too at just 70mm x 50mm x 31mm and weighing 86g, so compared with the bulkier Garmin i ..read more

Despite its name, the new Roadmachine is as capable on the road as it is off it Words Jack Lynch BMC has introduced a new Roadmachine that is sure to fire up anyone looking for a comfort road bike dually billed as a gravel bike. Instead of developing a new gravel bike to sit alongside its adventure-oriented URS, the third generation of the Roadmachine (fourth if you include its predecessor, the BMC Granfondo) has been designed for road and gravel rides, with tyres optimised for 32-35mm (but capable of fitting up to 40mm), mounts on the top tube for a small bag and even a downtube storage hat ..read more

The annual GiRodeo shows off the best of Girona’s gravel paradise It only takes a few minutes after setting off for the gravel to start Words WILL STRICKSON  Photography PATRIK LUNDIN Girona doesn’t need to be sold to cyclists anymore. Thanks to all the pros who call it home, the city in northeast Spain has become one of Europe’s premier cycling hubs, and one the biggest beneficiaries of Girona’s booming cycling culture is The Service Course. Set up in 2016 by former pro Christian Meier and his wife Amber (though now run by another former pro, Australian superstar Simon Gerrans), the cust ..read more