Would you believe, this year is the 10th anniversary since (Sir) Bradley Wiggins, ably assisted by Chris Froome and the metronomic train, helped Team Sky and (Sir) Dave Brailsford win Great Britain's first-ever Tour de France. Wiggins' subsequent 2012 London time trial triumph not only kick-started our country's pro cycling revolution but also lionised the concept of aggregation of marginal gains. Soon, a day didn't pass without training partners, coaches, and business gurus espousing the benefits of small changes reaping significant rewards. We could all hit our peak performance with the smallest of tweaks. Goodbye failure, hello goal-getting. Hmmm...
"I feel the whole marginal-gains thing was somewhat hijacked by the media," says world-class bike-fitter Phil Burt, who was central to the team's progress and now runs his own clinic in Manchester. "Also, it was never Dave's idea, as I'm sure he'd agree. [Former England Rugby Union coach] Sir Clive Woodward spoke to us at a British Cycling conference in 2006 and told us that if you improve by one per cent at a number of things, you'd keep driving forward. Of course, he probably borrowed it off someone else!" Maybe legendary gridiron football coach Vince Lombardi? We speculate.
What's more important is returning to the idea of that hijacking. “Recreational riders must focus on the bigger picture rather than buying their way to success," says Burt. “Assessing yourself, your position and your fundamental equipment will deliver much greater gains than very expensive chain lubricant." With that in mind, Burt invited us up to his bike-fitting nirvana within the shadows of Manchester City's Etihad stadium to talk us through his seven simple steps to guaranteed cycling improvements...
IT'S ALL ABOUT... YOU
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Denne historien er fra May 2022-utgaven av Cycling Plus.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Air Apparent - Pollution hasn't gone away. It's still there in every lungful, even if we can't see it in the air or on the news. But there are reasons to breathe easier, thanks to pioneering projects using cycling 'citizen scientists'. Rob Ainsley took part in one...
The toxic effects of pollution have been known about for years. 'Just two things of which you must beware: Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!' sang 1960s satirist Tom Lehrer.Over recent decades, though, pollution has dropped down our list of things to worry about, thanks to ominously capitalised concerns such as Climate Change, AI, Global Conflict, Species Collapse, etc. That doesn't, unfortunately, mean the problem has expired. Air quality often exceeds safe limits, with far-reaching and crippling effects on our health.
No limits
Not every adventure needs to be that epic, says bikepacking Scotland founder Markus Stitz
UNBOUND UNLEASHED
Josh Patterson was one of 34 starters for the inaugural edition of Unbound in 2006. Now, with more than 5,000 riders taking part in today's event, he charts the rise of the most important race in gravel
FOREST COMMISSION
Looking for a goal race in 2025 that'll stimulate the synapses and live long in the memory? You'd struggle to do better than ENID CRV in Finland
15 OF THE BEST ADVENTURES
Featuring Yorkshire, the USA, Sri Lanka and more, here are our picks of the world's greatest gravel races and routes
The stuff of dreams
Ned sings the praises of the Paris Olympics road-race course
"I rode 3,000 miles around Britain on a bamboo bike to highlight our climate crisis"
Recordbreaking cyclist and triathlete Kate Strong, 45, took to the road to raise awareness of environmental issues
FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
We venture into the hidden gem of the glorious Creuse, one of France's least populated regions
STAR TREK
New tube shapes and carbon lay-up makes the eighth generation of Trek's legendary Madone an aero and climbing bike all rolled into one
GOLD RUSH
With conflict around the world, Paris 2024 was a ray of light. Here are our highs of a mighty Olympics
