Welcome to the January 13th, Mid-Week Report!
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: ENGLISH STYLE
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We preview some of the highlights from our upcoming story on Rob English founder of English Cycles.
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FIRST LOOK: QUINTANA ROO SRFIVE
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ZAP’S COLUMN: TUBELESS TRAVAILS
Year after year, month after month and day after day, between the magazine, website, and social sites, we pump out a lot of words about bikes and bike riding. And between all the bike and product tests, feature stories, tech tips and personalities, there are a lot of different topics to cover—some that entertain, some that humor and, hopefully, some that can make a difference.
Every once in a while, though, a story comes along that can actually make a difference by “moving the needle” in the sport. In this issue you will find such a story—“Tubeless Gone Wrong”—that I feel is one of the more important stories we’ve published, because what we learned from it can make for a safer ride for all of us.
SOMETHING IS FISHY
It all started when Troy, minding the tech details as he always does, became curious as to why Specialized was suddenly backtracking on the tubeless capabilities of their newly released Roval wheels. It was right around the time that they were touting Julian Alaphilippe’s Tour de France stage win using clinchers with—gasp—inner tubes!
Quickly, one thing led to another, and Troy was soon onto something. Knowing Specialized’s crafty sense of marketing savvy well, the Alaphilippe story was what struck me. “What’s the angle,” I wondered? By pushing Julian’s well-deserved victory, it turns out that it was not so much what Specialized was pushing but what they weren’t pushing—namely, the tubeless capabilities of their Roval wheels.
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BIKE OF THE WEEK: TOPSTONE LEFTY
We first fell in love with the Cannondale Topstone a few years ago when it was launched as the new dedicated gravel bike. Looking back at 2020 the newest version of the Topstone with Lefty fork offered us some really fun rides and for young David one really bad ride. Read our full review of the Topstone Lefty here where we came away impressed with the versatility the Lefty fork offers. At $4000 the carbon frame, Shimano GRX drivetrain and suspension fork seem almost too good to be true.
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HIRSCHI TERMINATES CONTRACT JOINS UAE

Marc Hirschi, one of the rising stars of road cycling, agreed to terminate his contract with DSM, the team announced on Tuesday. Last season, the 22-year-old Swiss rider won the Fleche Wallonne classic, won the longest stage of the Tour de France after a solo breakaway and was third in the World Championship road race. His contract was due to run until the end of 2021.
“Team DSM has reached a settlement agreement with their rider Marc Hirschi to terminate their present employment,” said the team, known as Sunweb last season. The brief statement added that part of the agreement was “that no further comments will be made”.
“Thanks for everything, Marc!” the team tweeted.
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