Nat Bromhead
The March April edition of Bicycling Australia is OUT NOW with subscribers receiving their copies in the mail and newsagents taking stock of the nation’s foremost road cycling publication over coming days.
Edition #246 of BA is packed with content including a heartfelt tribute to former pro rider and loving mother Melissa Hoskins whose life was tragically cut short in late December – Rest In Peace Melissa.
Inside you’ll also find –
An Interview with Luke Plapp
Lee ‘Hollywood’ Turner speaks with triple national road champion Luke Plapp to discuss the young legend’s career to date, switch to the Aussie team, his Olympic dreams and more – don’t miss this one!
The Accidental Tourist
After finding himself on the other side of the world to cover a bike race that failed to start, Pete Maniaty made the most of his trip to Italy.
Chasing Felicity
Felicity ‘Fliss’ Wilson-Haffenden is just 18-years-young but already has national and world titles to her name! Now signed with Lidl-Trek, Nicola Rutzou catches up with the young star.
Riding The Appian Way
It is one of the world’s oldest and most significant roads, and in this fascinating feature Pete Maniaty rides it. This is the Appian Way, and a history lesson by bike.
A Bumper Test Lab With The Following Gear Included
Muze Women’s Kit
Heard about Muze Women? It’s a relatively new brand but is quickly gaining popularity. Here Amy McPherson rides the kit and tells us all about it.
Restrap Frame Bag
Frame bags may not be for all but they do offer a practical and efficient way to carry extra gear when out on the bike. Here Steve Thomas field tests the latest offering from Restrap.
Scicon Aeroscope
Made famous by Tadej Pogacar, Peter Maniaty rides and reviews these sunglasses with a difference – the arms are fully adjustable!
DT Swiss Wheel Test
An aero wheelset for well under $1000? That’s what we test here. Yes they are alloy, but they’re quite impressive for the money as we find here.
The Bike Spa Experience
Dr Michael Hanslip tests out these ‘bike spa’ products from the acclaimed Silca stables.
Reynolds 46mm Wheels Tested
The second wheel review in this edition of BA are these stunning 46mm carbon fibre hoops from Reynolds. We all know that upgrading wheels is the best way to boost your bike – see how these perform on page 60.
Northwave Veloce Extreme
Yes they are (very) close to $700, but these shoes have been proven to improve performance and ultimately save you precious power. Pete Maniaty rides them from page 62.
S-Works Aethos
Dr Rod Gill owns way too many bikes (if that’s at all possible). Here he talks us through one of his favourites, the impressive S-Works Aethos.
2024 Orbea Orca
One for the climbers, this new Orbea Orca simply loves heading uphill! We take the new Orca to the hills just north of Sydney to see how it rides.
Pinarello’s Grevil
‘The Dogma for the Dirt’ is how this wild looking Pinarello Grevil is described. Yes, the design may be divisive but this bike goes like hell!
Editorial: Cycling … A World Unto Itself
Increasingly so broad and diverse, while giving this edition of Bicycling Australia a final perusal prior to it being sent to the printer, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the almost countless aspects of our sport.
Starting with Publisher James Yaffa’s column over on the next page, he discusses the almost incomprehensible logistics that take place behind the scenes of the global biking industry. Just think … when you casually wander in to take a look around your LBS – a simple act that JY rightly states is one of the best ways to maintain and boost your mojo for the sport – each of the thousands of items in stock has been developed by passionate enthusiasts just like you and me.
That ‘gear junkie’ theme continues over the next four pages with one of our most popular regular inclusions, Top Gear.
The expansive diversity of the sport rolls on with Peter Maniaty jetting from Sydney to the south of Italy to cover a bike race, the Adriatica Ionica. Waking one quiet morning at home, I blearily switched on my phone and was hit with a barrage of texts from poor Pete who was asking “The Italians have cancelled the race, what’ll I do?”
But he made the most of the situation – by eliminating the negative, focusing on the positive and making limoncello from lemons – as you can read in two riveting travel stories inside this edition.
The wide-ranging diversity of our sport is further highlighted with Nicola Rutzou’s inspirational interview with Felicity Wilson-Hafenden. Taking to the sport just four years ago, and now a National and World Champion, young ‘Fliss’s’ story is one of awe and amazement.
Then, dear reader, you’ll find more than 30 pages of cutting-edge reviews of some of the latest gear in cycling – new products being yet another aspect of our sport we just can’t get enough of.
Cycling seems to attract more than its fair share of colourful characters and one of the loudest and proudest is none other than Lee ‘Hollywood’ Turner. You can read his interview with yet another inspiring young Aussie, Luke Plapp, from page 78.
Wrapping things up is veteran columnist Anthony Tan who drills down on this year’s Tour de France – yet another aspect of the sport that is almost a world unto itself.
Happy reading and safe cycling!
Nat Bromhead, Editor
