The pro cycling season is about to end but not before the week long road world championships...
Who's going to win Sunday?
I love steel bikes and enjoy riding my 1987 Marinoni Columbus SL. This Friday File the spotlight goes to Giovanni Battaglin. He was the winner of the 1981 Giro-Vuelta double and after he retired produced some of the world's finest steel frames. He's celebrating his 65th birthday producing an limited edition of 65 classic lugged beauties (above image), of course, handcrafted in Italy. How can you not want one?
The great Battaglin in 1981.
An interesting side note; Pinarello made Battaglin's winning bike. He had one secret weapon, thanks to Pinnarello. In the 1981 Vuelta, there was no rest day and on stage 19 the riders climbed the steep and dreaded Tre Cime di Lavaredo. The last four kilometres average over 10 per cent. Pinarello had a secret weapon; a climbing bike designed for the stage equipped with a custom triple chain set. No one else had one, and Battaglin easily rode up the final climb past his rivals...
An original:
Campagnolo Record groupset: 13/14/15/17/19/24T, 53/44/36 chainrings.
Next to the high temperatures, the other menace is the Pearl Qatar.
The upcoming road races (starting Thursday) are up in the air. The weather may just play the spoiler, as high temperatures might call for enacting the extreme weather protocol. The weather forecast for Thursday is 36C. The men's 257.5km race may be cut to 106km. Canada's men's team will be: Ryan Anderson, Guillaume Boivin, Adam de Vos, Antoine Duchesne, Hugo Houle and Ryan Roth. This race is flat so the sprinter's will be hunting for rainbow glory. Here's the favorites: Peter Sagan, Nacer Bouhanni, Caleb Ewan, Andre Greipel, Marcel Kittel, Mark Cavendish, Michael Matthews, Alexander Kristoff and Fernando Gaviria. It will be fun to watch!
A few days ago, on my ride over looking the picturesque Rideau River...
Simply beautiful.
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