Like the Daily News Digest hosted over on our brother site CyclingTips, the Women’s Cycling Round-Up will be a collection of content we curate twice weekly to share with our readers. The pieces we select will occasionally include articles we’ve produced and want to highlight but more often than not will be women’s cycling content we’ve found elsewhere that we’re excited to share with you.
You can expect the Women’s Cycling Round-Up to hit Ella on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week. And if you’ve stumbled on interesting women’s cycling content you want to share, feel free to do so in the comments section.
How Verita Stewart Earned Her Stripes
Verita Stewart was one of 20 women to successfully complete the mass-everesting challenge undertaken this past Saturday. To earn her coveted grey stripe from Hells 500, Verita climbed eight laps of Mt Donna Buang to gain 8,848 metres of vertical gain – the height of Mt. Everest – over 250 kilometres of riding.
I certainly didn’t expect to be planning an Everesting attempt when I got the invitation from Laura Wilson from Specialized Australia to catch up over coffee little over two months ago. What she proposed to me over that coffee seemed madness, but something not totally off my radar. She asked me to represent Specialized in a littleEveresting attempt that Hells500 were cooking up. There was no expectations for me to participate, it was merely an offer. My eyes lit up.
I have been following the Eversting craze ever since Andy van Bergen from Hells500 set it up back in September 2013. I’ve been attending Andy’s Hells500 Tuesday #RFWYA rides for a while now and following the stories of many others who have completed their Everests. The proposal Laura and Hells500 had put in front of me was outstanding – how could I not be involved. 25 women + Mt Donna Buang, 8848m, the largest group everesting on record all to inspire, motivate and encourage female cycling around the world that anything is possible. I immediately said “yes”. February 7th at 11:59PM we were going to begin our Everesting attempt of Mt Donna Buang, 25 women attempting in solidarity, but all riding together to climb Mt Everest. The date went straight into my race calendar, I would clear it with the coach later!
Click here to read the rest of Verita’s blog post.
Aero is Everything with Evelyn Stevens and Specialized
Evelyn Stevens recently did some real world position testing on the velodrome in Valenica, Spain – and Specialized was there not only to assist in the testing but also to capture the process involved in helping Evie find her most aero option. Having already tested in the wind tunnel, Evie explains the benefit of further fine-tuning on the track in the video below.
This Girl Can
Although this video has been doing the rounds for nearly a month, it’s so well done that if you haven’t seen it yet, we feel it’s our duty to make sure you do. This Girl Can, the brainchild of Sport England, is part of a national campaign to encourage women of all shapes, sizes and fitness levels to get more active in any activity of their choosing.
Vote Early, Vote Often
Sarah Connolly has put together a fairly comprehensive list of all the new team kits over at Podium Café. Choke-full of details, pictures and even a handful of videos, Sarah gives a detailed overview of who is wearing what during the 2015 season and offers fan an opportunity to vote for their favourite kit in the peloton.
The comment section is nearly as good of a read as the post itself, so make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom to get your vote in and hear what Podium Café readers have to say about the changes and the stay-the-sames. At the time of publication of this post, Velocio-SRAM leads with nearly double the votes as Boels-Dolmans in second place.
Click here to weigh in.
Eat Your Dinner: Tips and Tricks With Mara Abbott
For my debut column with Ella Cycling Tips, I thought it only appropriate that I offer a few of my own cycling tips to our new readers. Whether you compete for fun, race professionally, or simply enjoy riding your bike around town, I hope there is something here that speaks to you.
Chose Your Mentors Wisely
An eager advisor lies waiting around every switchback in Bike World. The first time you bought a tube or joined a group ride, I suspect that a line of Bike Bros may have been trampling one another to gain your audience. I do hope you at least let them talk – for the Bike Bro is a fragile creature. Beneath his passion and encyclopedic knowledge, he remains very aware of his colored tights and skinny arms. It is polite to help him feel important – but take what he says with a grain of salt.
After your first cycling victory, the advisors may have emerged anew as prophets, eager to shepherd your sure path to greatness. Remember that despite their great intentions, neither the Bike Bros nor the prophets truly know you personally. While their wisdom is admirable, alas there is no cookie-cutter pathway to the podium that can be studied or prescribed.
So get very clear, very early on, about a small handful of people you truly trust. The gift of this confidence is a huge privilege – don’t give it away too easily. Accustom yourself to background noise while keeping the counsel of your true mentors close to your heart.
And yes, I am aware that my entire column is advice. Feel free to disregard me as well.
Click here to read the rest of Mara’s column.
What a Tease
Velocio-SRAM recently released this teaser video coming out of their team camp last month. The short clip showcases the new Velocio kit – who else is loving the red gilet?! – and Cervelo bikes alongside the beautiful Lanzarote, Spain landscape. The brief glimpse we’re given of rider interviews leaves us eager to hear from the team in this year it has dubbed as a “metamorphosis” for the organisation as a whole.
Managing Your Monthly Cycle
This post by Bicycling Magazine has done the rounds in the past week, demonstrating the under-discussed issue of the effects of menstruation on performance is certainly one of interest.
I feel like a newbie on my bike today,” Erica tells me, looking anything but as she stands out of the saddle to crest a small climb in Clermont, Florida, where Colavita/Bianchi is having team camp. “Nothing like feeling bloated and grumpy on picture day!” she calls back as the photographer in the car ahead of us clicks away.
“Keep your distance and don’t mess up my cycle, sister,” I call back. “I don’t need that this week.” We both laugh. Because it’s funny, even if it’s really not so funny.
Ironic is more like it. At a time when Always feminine hygiene products is placing #LikeAGirl “girl-power” ads during the Super Bowl, some elite female athletes like marathon world-record holder Paula Radcliffe are blasting the sports world for still not understanding how to deal with menstruation. “I would argue it’s a lack of learning,” Radcliffe told BBC Sport last month. “Too often in sport, doctors are men, and they don’t understand.”
Read the http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/training-fitness/put-end-monthly-problems-period on Bicycling Magazine
