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The latest Rapha news, rides, and observations
Last Sunday saw a Rapha Women's 100 training ride in the UK in the hilly Peak District for a tough 65km in preparation for the forthcoming ride in July. Nonnas Italian restaurant in Chesterfield acted as a perfectly-Giro inspired rider HQ, with splashes of Rosa and tricolore welcoming the ladies who enjoyed traditional Italian coffees and pastries before rolling out with the Jaguar support car containing both soigneur and mechanic.
Words by Bill Strickland | Photos by Jeremy Dunn
The Tour of California was born the same year as Twitter, a coincidence that happens to be significant because it illustrates how thoroughly and pervasively we have been able to follow the race. It comes to us, and always has, in high-definition streaming TiVo plasma podcast coverage, and in likes and pokes and gifs and bit-torrented vids and hi-res flickers, and an approximately infinite amount of blogs. The riders tell us themselves what they’re thinking right before a stage, and right after, and on the rest days they share the rest. We can know everything about the race, and always have and always will. It is the first great tour of the information age, so thoroughly tagged, tweeted, totaled, transmitted, tumbled, and televised that our collective appreciation of the race is built not on hoary fables but on verifiable facts. Had he been at the crest of Diablo, ten thousand hashtagged instant communiqués would have told us that, actually, Bahamontes hadn’t stopped specifically to get an ice cream but, rather, only because his spokes had broken. There’d have been plenty of six-second videos to prove it, too.
The An Post Rás Tailteann, or simply ‘The Rás’, as it is known, is a race to be enjoyed many years after it has been completed, when the pain and suffering of the event has been turned by time into a happy memory of the toughest of times.
The Rás, an eight-day pro-am stage race that takes place in Ireland each May, has been held annually without interruption since 1953, and is considered by many to be Ireland’s most important stage race. The Rás is in many ways unique, its UCI status, and Ireland’s close proximity to the UK, means that the race attracts a number of British and European Continental teams. But its strong Irish heritage also means that the field is made up of a mixture of professional teams and Irish county teams.
The Doppio is Rapha's weekly double-shot of road racing reportage. A two-faced publication of the week's action and what's up the road, every Wednesday we review and preview the week's biggest races and fill you in on the details in between. Available in all Cycle Clubs – San Francisco, London and Osaka – we'll also be offering the Doppio as a downloadable document on the site each week, absolutely free.
photo and interview by Frank van der Sman
Name – Joost Stokhof
Occupation – Illustrator
You've made illustrations for the upcoming Rapha city guide on Amsterdam, what is your connection with the city? I was born and raised in Amsterdam, it's the city that I lived in until I was about twenty. I moved to Utrecht to go to art school. After my education was done I stayed in Utrecht but I have plans to live back in Amsterdam some day.
photo by Javier Fuertes
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