TILTING AT TOWERS
Cycling Weekly|June 06, 2024
Faced with a daunting weather forecast, Tom Davidson takes on Alice Towers’s favourite training loop and learns how block headwinds forge champions
Tom Davidson
TILTING AT TOWERS

The sound of the wind hissing against the window of my room above the pub fills me with dread. It’s 10pm on a Monday, and I’m lying awake in bed in Bartonunder-Needwood, a well-to-do village just south of the Peak District. Eyes open, I’m fixating on the violent whistling outside. I knew the wind was coming. I had spent much of the last few days thumbing through weather forecasts, trying to find one that was favourable, a calmer outlook that would put my mind at ease. The verdict, on everyone, was wind – inescapable wind, barreling at 20mph from the south, with gusts at twice that speed. It is, I will later understand, the eve of the hardest bike ride of my life.

I’ve come to the Midlands to try the home roads of a champion, the 2022 British national road champion, to be exact. Canyon-SR AM’s Alice Towers sent me the route. It’s one of the 21-year-old’s “go-to” endurance rides, heading north on country lanes over the sharp climbs of the southern Peaks and back again. “I almost know it off by heart,” Towers told me over the phone, ahead of the ride, before issuing a warning. “It’s not an easy loop,” she said. “You can’t cruise round it. You’ve definitely got to push the pedals and make yourself work for it.” I was too proud to tell her that, at 64 miles and 5,000ft elevation, it is already longer, and hillier, than anything I had ever attempted before.

At this point, there are two things you should probably know about me. Number one is that I don’t do long rides; in fact, my housemates mock me for rarely covering more than 20 miles. Number two is that I hate the wind. At 6ft 5in with broad shoulders, I’m built like a sheet of lasagne. The wind, for as long as I have ridden a bike, has been my sworn enemy. “It’s never a crosswind,” Towers forewarned me. “It’s either a headwind or a tailwind.” She’s not wrong.

Tailwind send-off

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.

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.

MORE STORIES FROM CYCLING WEEKLYView all
CLASSIC BIKE - JOHNNY BERRY
Cycling Weekly

CLASSIC BIKE - JOHNNY BERRY

Johnny be good at making beautiful lightweight bikes

time-read
1 min  |
December 19 - 26, 2024 (Double Issue)
UK SCENE - WUNDERKIND HUDSON WINS YORKSHIRE CX
Cycling Weekly

UK SCENE - WUNDERKIND HUDSON WINS YORKSHIRE CX

Newly crowned junior hill-climb champ shows his versatility by winning round seven on the mud

time-read
1 min  |
December 19 - 26, 2024 (Double Issue)
WATT WORKS FOR ME TADEJ POGAČAR
Cycling Weekly

WATT WORKS FOR ME TADEJ POGAČAR

The man himself - subject of this special issue - explains the key performance changes behind his record-breaking year

time-read
2 mins  |
December 19 - 26, 2024 (Double Issue)
11 WAYS TO POG-UP YOUR PLAN
Cycling Weekly

11 WAYS TO POG-UP YOUR PLAN

Tadej Pocačar's performance is out of reach but you can adapt his training to raise your game. Chris Marshall-Bell consults the experts to find out how

time-read
9 mins  |
December 19 - 26, 2024 (Double Issue)
Why do modern aero bikes look less aero?
Cycling Weekly

Why do modern aero bikes look less aero?

Are today's aero bikes really faster, or is marketing just getting better? Joe Baker investigates...

time-read
6 mins  |
December 19 - 26, 2024 (Double Issue)
REVIEW OF THE YEAR
Cycling Weekly

REVIEW OF THE YEAR

An Olympic year is always special and the cycling season once again delivered a year of highs and lows, from Pogi's triple to Katie Archibald's pre-Olympic trip

time-read
3 mins  |
December 19 - 26, 2024 (Double Issue)
MEET THE PARENTS
Cycling Weekly

MEET THE PARENTS

What made Tadej Pogačar the phenomenon he is today? Chris Marshall-Bell went to Slovenia to meet his mum and dad, Mirko and Marjeta

time-read
10 mins  |
December 19 - 26, 2024 (Double Issue)
HALF MAN HALF GOAT
Cycling Weekly

HALF MAN HALF GOAT

Tadej Pogačar may have had a phenomenal season, but has he done enough to cement his status as the greatest of all time? Chris Marshall-Bell weighs the arguments for and against

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 19 - 26, 2024 (Double Issue)
Lefevere cashes in his chips and leaves cycling management
Cycling Weekly

Lefevere cashes in his chips and leaves cycling management

The news that Patrick Lefevere will step down as Quick Step boss marks the end of an era, after 22 years in charge

time-read
3 mins  |
December 19 - 26, 2024 (Double Issue)
Mathieu van der Poel weighs up skipping Tour de France
Cycling Weekly

Mathieu van der Poel weighs up skipping Tour de France

Dutchman hints at missing Tour in favour of mtb Worlds bid, reports Tom Thewlis from Dénia, Spain

time-read
2 mins  |
December 19 - 26, 2024 (Double Issue)