These days many of us claiming to be serious cyclists use Zwift. Not only can it help tune fitness on dark winter nights, but there are races to enjoy. Alone in their pain caves, miles from their rivals, there is nothing virtual about e-racing.
It’s even evolved into a spectator sport, with big screens, roaring crowds, television, plus national and world championships. However, though times and technology have changed drastically, indoor racing is nothing new.
For nearly 20 years from the beginning of the 1930s through one of British cycling’s heydays, when computers were little more than coloured beads on a wire, roller racing was a hugely popular, if slightly eccentric sport.
Events would fill theatres and village halls alike. In the 1940s crowds beleaguered by war were royally entertained by anyone from average clubmen to the sport’s best.
Thanks to Cycling mag
At the beginning of the 1930s this very magazine stoked up the craze. Each January at their Grand All-Rounder Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall,
Cycling magazine would stage races, adding even more impetus when, in 1935, Belgian track world champion Jeff Scherens came over to ride a demonstration event.
And, rather than have its equipment lying idle for the remaining 364 days of the year, the magazine lent their roller sets to event promoters, allowing the sport to grow, if only mainly in the region of its London base.
However, considering its part in promoting the sport, Cycling was strangely quiet when it came to roller racing coverage. Scherens’s display was completely ignored in the post-concert edition, the evening’s competition summed up with a few short lines.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
CLASSIC BIKE COLNAGO SUPER
A trailblazing bike immortalised by Merckx and Saronni
"Strava activities are the only way I know some of my friends are still alive"
...or that Bernard is doing his weekly shop
AN EXPERT'S TAKE ON... SADDLE SELECTION
Crucial advice to guide your next purchase
JUST A NUMB#R?
Approaching a landmark birthday, Charlie Graham-Dixon explores how ageing affects cycling performance and what can be done to stay ahead of the curve
RURAL PERIL
More UK cyclists are killed on rural lanes than on busy city streets. Rob Kemp investigates why and what can be done to keep us safe while riding in the countryside
A BLESSED RIDE THROUGH THE FOREST OF BOWLAND
Forgoing cloak, cassock and cross, Trevor Ward goes in search of the holy roads that helped make a Tour winner
Dame Sarah Storey claims road and 19th gold double
More success for Team GB's Paralympians in Paris, but Storey slams women's time trial course
Roglič matches Vuelta win record
Slovenian takes fourth Tour of Spain title after hunting down O'Connor's lead, writes Adam Becket
Williams crowned Tour of Britain champion
Welshman leads home resurgence at the stage race to crown an Israel-Premier Tech clean sweep, reports Tom Davidson in Felixstowe
CLASSIC BIKE CLAUD BUTLER OLYMPIC ROAD
Iconic British brand's Holdsworth-era road bike