As an end of year review, Strava has provided a data dump collected from each and every one of its users in 2015. Throughout the year, 5.3 bike rides were uploaded to the fitness tracking and social site every second, resulting in a massive 4.5 billion kilometres being logged.
Strava have offered each user the chance to visualise their stats for the year in the form of a personalised video, and pro riders have jumped at the opportunity. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), who won the Alpe d'Huez stage at this year's Tour de France, climbed a total of 380,928 vertical metres on the bike in 2015, collecting 417 Strava King of the Mountains awards (KOMs) along the way. The Frenchman spent 722 hours and eight minutes on two wheels, riding a total of 23,469km. His video can be viewed by clicking here.
Peter Stetina (Trek-Segafredo), who spent most of the season recovering from a horrific knee injury sustained at the Vuelta al País Vasco, still managed a total of 8,836 miles across 500 hours of riding, earning himself 19,377 'Kudos' - Strava's equivalent of 'likes'. "Not bad considering my injury and months of sitting on the sidelines!" said the American on Twitter. His video can be found here.
Team Sky arrive in Australia ahead of Tour Down Under
Some of the Team Sky riders selected for the 2016 Tour Down Under have landed in Australia and have been lapping up the local culture ahead of the race, which starts on January 17.
British riders Geraint Thomas, Ben Swift, and Luke Rowe, Peter Kennaugh, and Ian Stannard are all out in Adelaide, escaping the British winter.
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Thomas took to Twitter to post a photo of a sun kissed beach, while he and Luke Rowe also posted photos from the Adelaide Oval, where they were watching a cricket match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Perth Scorchers.
The British riders are joined by Colombian Sergio Henao and Italian Salvatore Puccio on Sky's seven-man team for the race.
Allan Peiper picks his cycling dream team - The Cyclingnews Podcast
In the latest edition of The Cyclingnews Podcast, we're excited to bring you an exclusive discussion with BMC Racing team director Allan Peiper. The Australian had a long and distinguished career as a rider and was a teammate to several world stars before moving into management with teams such as Highroad, Garmin and now BMC.
In this podcast, we ask Allan to select his dream team – a nine-rider squad of riders he has either ridden with as a teammate or managed.
Recorded at BMC Racing’s team camp at the end of 2015, Allan picks a team to tackle the overall in the Grand Tours as well as the sprints and Classics. We hope you enjoy.
Newly-retired Ted King teams up with Velocio
Ted King has made his first move in his post-racing career, joining forces with cycling clothing company Velocio in a product design and feedback related role. The American, who rode for the Cannondale team since 2013, hung up his wheels at the end of this season after eight years as a pro.
“At the end of my racing career, I came to a crossroads — stay in the sport or chase a new aspect of life, and the truth is I still love riding,” said King in a statement from Velocio.
“Up next is riding for the simple love of riding. As long as I’ve been a cyclist I’ve focused on racing, but cycling is so much bigger than that. I enjoy the camaraderie, the freedom, the social empowerment, the euphoric highs, and the simple pleasures affiliated with a bike. So the coming year will see me doing a bit of everything on two wheels. Think pop-up rides, wild rides, big rides, camps, maybe a stab at Leadville, group rides, and everything else that’s great about the sport.”
King joins the likes of Tiffany Cromwell, Tayler Wiles, and Helen Wyman in collaborating with Velocio and has been providing knowledge and tips to the company - which has begun a "push towards stories, experience and performance" - for the past three months.
“We are grateful to have Ted join our group of advisors and supporters, grateful for a partnership that promises great stories, rides and inspiration in the coming year and beyond," concluded the statement from Velcocio.
