20% OFF INDOOR CYCLING GEAR!

20th February 2012 - filed under STORE NEWS

If you've worn out your old indoor turbo trainer this winter, want to get in those extra training hours after dark or when it is pouring with rain then Giant Stores are on hand to help!

Giant Stores are offering 20% off indoor cycling gear until the end of February! In order to take advantage of this offer simply follow this link to download the voucher from VoucherCodes.co.uk!

T&C's apply, not available with any other offer, Cyclescheme or finance, offer ends 29.02.2012

ENDURA'S TIERNAN-LOCKE WINS TOUR DU HAUT VAR

20th February 2012 - filed under Teamsriders

Jon Tiernan-Locke put in another stellar climbing performance on Sunday to clinch the second stage and the overall classification at the Cycliste International du Haut Var (UCI 2.1) in Provence, France.

Lying in third spot after Saturday's opening stage, Tiernan-Locke showed real class in Sunday's 205km stage between Frejus and Freyence. Despite losing two team-mates to illness (Rene Mandri was unable to start stage one and Alexandre Blain succumbed early on stage two), the Endura Racing team worked hard to keep Jon in the right place on the road and their efforts were rewarded as he jumped clear of the bunch with 1km to go to catch and power past a lead group of four riders on the final brutal climb into Freyence on his Giant TCR Advanced SL.

Tiernan-Locke took the stage by one second from Julian El Fares (Team-Type 1) and Julian Simon (Saur-Sojasun) and the overall classification from the same riders by six seconds and nine seconds respectively.

Speaking after the race Jon Tiernan-Locke said the conditions suited him well and he had real confidence going into the race following his recent Tour Mediterraneen win;

"It's perfectly suited to me round here, punchy climbs that sap legs. I could actually enjoy it today because at the Tour Méditerranéen I felt a lot of pressure, but here I was confident coming into the race that I could actually win this and I could relax a bit. To be honest I'm quite glad I didn't win yesterday even though I thought it might be my only chance."

He continued;
"I knew yesterday I could probably win this, I struggled on the fast bits but when it became a slogfest I knew I would be strong, plus of course I knew I would have some strong team mates up with me looking after me. They did a great job. I'm so happy that my form has come good this early."

Endura Racing Sports Director Julian Winn said;
"Just an unbelievable ride from JTL & the boys today. We were a man down to start, and then Alex was ill early on so we were down to six. The five that were with Jon, really stepped up today and I think they did a tremendous job. I am really speechless with regards to Jon, that was incredible, he's just put himself into a completely different league. The team should all be proud of what they did, Rob Partridge and Ian Bibby did some awesome riding for him closing the gaps, it's just amazing, been an incredible start to the season - JTL has now established himself as a major player and put Endura firmly on the map."

You can check out all the Endura Racing riders and Giant teams in our Teams & Riders Section.

Keep up to date with the latest news by Following Us on Twitter.

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Giant XC Riders Start Strong in Cyprus

19th February 2012 - filed under Teamsriders

The mountain bike racing season is underway in Europe, with some of the top XC World Cup riders making the annual trip south to compete in the Cyprus Sunshine Cup series. Giant riders fared well at Sunday’s opening round, with Fabian Giger of the Rabobank-Giant team and Liam Killeen of the Factory Off-Road Team finishing second and third respectively in warm, sunny conditions.

Giger rode his XtC Advanced SL aggressively from the start of the five-lap, 30km race and came within 2 seconds of victory. He was edged out by World Champion Jaroslav Kulhavy, who passed the Swiss rider on the final descent.

“The most important thing was that I felt good,” Giger told Cyclingnews.com. “At the end, maybe I had too much respect for the world champion because I let him pass in the corner. Anyway, it’s not too bad to be second behind the world champion.”

Killeen also got his season off to a strong start. The Brit, racing the XtC Composite 29er, was in the lead trio of riders who survived at the front to battle it out at the end. He ended the day third, just one second behind Giger.

Completing the effort for the team in Cyprus was a top-10 finish by Emil Lindgren. The Swedish National Champion rode his XtC Composite 29er to a strong seventh place.

Video: A Look Back at Nine Knights

15th February 2012 - filed under Teamsriders

Last summer Giant rider Andi Wittmann introduced a new freeride event in Austria called the Suzuki Nine Knights contest. Andi, who hosted the event, was joined by fellow Giant rider Kurt Sorge and a select group of the sport’s top talents who battled it out in a unique contest inspired by the Nine Knights freeskiing event. With the 2012 Nine Knights contest already on the calendar—it’s set for August 19-25—here’s a look back at some of the action from 2011.

Bikeradar.com Praises Anthem X 29er

14th February 2012 - filed under Product

Bikeradar.com put the 2012 Anthem X 29er to the test, posting a review today on its website. Editors of the review, which also appeared in What Mountain Bike magazine, praised the Anthem X 29er 1 test bike for its low weight, great handling and proven Maestro Suspension.

“There’s one thing that immediately makes the Anthem X 29er stand out next to its immediate competition, and that’s weight,” they wrote. “Or rather, lack of it. At a hair over 12kg and under the magic 27lb barrier, the Giant certainly isn’t carrying any excess baggage. Compared with lardier rivals, it positively bounds up the hills.”

To read the full review, please go to bikeradar.com.

JODY CUNDY VICTORIOUS AT PARA-CYCLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN LOS ANGELES

13th February 2012 - filed under Teamsriders

Jody was off to a tricky start in the 4km Individual Pursuit at the Para-Cycling Track World Championship’s after a Commissaire standing on the track in the back straight forced Jody to quit his first qualification run. Luckily for Jody, the UCI recognized this error and allowed Jody a restart, but this also meant that he had no other rider to race against.

Nevertheless, Jody rode a strong race finishing in a time of 4:55.958, which was good enough to place him third and therefore into the Bronze medal ride off later today. In the final for Bronze, Jody will now be facing Roberto Garcia Alcaide (ESP) who qualified in a time of 4:57.622.

After the race, Jody said “this was the hardest pursuit I have ever ridden and unfortunately not one of my fastest. I am still quite please though to have made it into the final for Bronze after having to start a second time. I came around the first corner and saw the Commissaire standing on the track, so I didn’t have a choice but to slow down and abort the attempt. There was very little time to refocus before my second qualification run and having no one to chase didn’t make things easier neither. But that’s just the way it was and I tried to make the best of the situation.”

After qualifying third in a time of 4:55.958 in the morning, Jody was facing Roberto Garcia Alcaide (ESP, 4:57.622) in the final for Bronze that night. Motivated by his unlucky qualification run, Jody was off to a quick start and well ahead of his opponent after lap 2 already. Quickly closing in on Alcaide, Jody did not waste any time and managed to catch the Spaniard in lap 5 to take the Bronze medal. After the race, Jody said “We had not planned to go for the catch so it was quite a surprise to have him in sight after lap 2 already. I was a little disappointed with my performance this morning when I was off pace, so we decided to change a few things and ride the same schedule again. I felt much better tonight than I did this morning.”

Even though Jody did not manage to improve on his previous World Championships performance in Montichiari where he won a Silver, Jody feels confident that his result is a step in the right direction: “Ultimately, London is my main goal and I am still learning in the pursuit. It’s a very different event to the kilo but I am not a million miles off from where I want to be, so everything is pointing into the right direction. Of course, I would have liked to post a faster time in the qualifying as my time didn’t reflect my good shape at the moment, but it is all about the learning experience and we learned a lot today!

After today’s pursuit, Jody is now looking forward to his favorite discipline, the 1km Time Trial, in which he is defending champion and WR holder. “I am in good form and I feel much more in control riding the kilo, but the track in LA is not as fast as Manchester or Montichiari, so breaking my WR will be tough”.

After winning the Bronze medal in the 4km Individual Pursuit the previous day, Jody was up in the 1km Time Trial today to defend his World Championship crown. As the defending Champion, Jody got to start last giving him the advantage to see the times of his competitors. The time to beat then was that of Jiri Bouska (CZE) who had posted a 1:09.025, almost 4 seconds slower than Jody’s WR time of 1:05.144. With a seemingly manageable task on hand, Jody was already more than a second up on Bouska’s time after the first lap. He managed to maintain the momentum to increase this lead to a comfortable 3.024 seconds crossing the line in a Gold medal winning time of 1:06.001.

But despite winning the World Championship title, Jody admitted after the race: “I have to say my legs felt like jelly this morning, they felt awful. It’s the first time before a kilo I didn’t really feel ready for it, so it was all about getting the ride out. I went flat out of the gate but after a lap and a half, it already didn’t feel very fast. I tried to give it everything and by the time I got towards the last lap, I just tried to keep it going. I kind of switched into pursuit mode as it’s almost pursuit pace by the time you get to the last lap. And when I came down the back straight I overheard the commentator saying that I was more than 2 seconds up, so I knew that we should be able to get it.”

“I am a little annoyed to be .001 away from a 1:05 and also it’s the first time ever, that I’ve won a World or Paralympic title and not broke the world record at the same time, but I shouldn’t be too disappointed. We might have got my taper slightly wrong or maybe just didn’t have enough recovery from the flight and the travel, but we can learn from that and that’s the important bit”

After successfully defending his Kilo title today, Jody will be racing in the Mixed Team Sprint alongside Darren Kenny and Sarah Storey on the final day of the competition tomorrow. A rule change after last year’s World Championships - allowing fewer points per team - had forced the British coaches to reorganise their team sprint line-up, and other Nations will be running different teams as well.

“It will be a complete mystery this time” Jody said, “We don’t know what orders teams are running, which riders they have selected, but we will just focus on ourselves, get the best out of each other and be safe and technically correct. As long as we do everything within our control and make sure everything is right from our end, we’ll see what happens. But I think we’ve got the team that can win.”

The final day of the competition saw Jody racing in the Mixed Team Sprint alongside Darren Kenny and Sarah Storey. The GB team started into the competition as defending Champions and WR holders, however a rule change after last year’s World Championships - allowing fewer points per team - had forced the British coaches to reorganise their Team Sprint line-up. So today’s race was “a complete mystery” as Jody put it before the competition.

Tension was on after the Chinese posted a time of 51.152 but GB’s Darren Kenny got the team off to a great start. With Sarah loosing a little bit of time on lap two however, it was down to Jody to secure GB a ride in the final. And Jody did just that crossing the line in 51.114, only .038 ahead of China.
With both teams that close, it was obvious that the final for Gold would be a tough one for Darren, Sarah and Jody. And disaster stroke at the start of the first lap already, when Sarah slipped through the attachment on her handlebar, which she uses to compensate for the lack of grip caused by her disability. Sarah said “ I slipped out of it in the first banking which gave me an even bigger gap on Darren than this morning. The one thing that has never happened before, happened today, which is very annoying.”

Having issues with her handlebars, Sarah struggled to get onto Darren’s wheel and more importantly into his slipstream. Unsurprisingly then, GB was down after lap two and it was down to Jody again to try to make up the lost time. Unfortunately for him though, the damage was already done and the time gap too big to make up, so the GB team had to settle for Silver in a time of 51.175 behind the Chinese who rode a 50.564. The first time since 2007 that Great Britain has not won the Team Sprint title.

After the race, Jody said “We gave it all, but we lost to the better team today. Unfortunately, we had some issue with Sarah’s handlebar attachment, which had a deadly knock on effect. She lost Darren’s wheel so she didn’t get the benefit of his slipstream and as a result faded more towards the end of her lap. As a consequence, the delivery speed dropped so my lap wasn’t as fast as it could have been neither.”

One of these things will be to add more Team Sprint training into their programs, as Jody explained, “I think if we had practiced more, we could have been better. Maybe we have been a bit complacent with the Team Sprint because we’ve always won it comfortably, but we literally did our trial and no practice. Effectively, we had only done one training session in this line up, so it’s probably our own fault for not practicing.”

However, Jody and the rest of the team feel confident that they can win back the Team Sprint crown in London. Jody said: “We’ve got a lot of things technically, that we can pick up easy, free speed. The Team Sprint race has been a lot more competitive than we expected, but we’re not a million miles off from where we were last year and from where we need to be right now. I don’t think we’re out of this at all, I think we’re in a strong place for London.”

Although these World Championships have not been Jody's most successful ones, he emphasized the fact that the London Paralympic Games are his main focus for 2012 "We have been working incredibly hard, but there is still a lot more work to do for London. I've defended my kilo title and picked up a silver and a bronze in the team sprint and pursuit, so I cant complain. What has been really amazing though is the support myself and the team have been getting from the fans back home! I'd like to say thank you to all of you, it really does mean a lot to me and I can't wait to get to London and perform in front of a home crowd!"
Jody will now enjoy a brief holiday with his family in Los Angeles, before returning to the UK and starting his intensive preparations in the run up to the Paralympic Games.

ENDURA RACING WIN TOUR MIDITERRANEEN!

12th February 2012 - filed under Teamsriders

Endura Racing's Jon Tiernan-Locke launched a devastating attack on the final climb of the Tour Méditerranéen today, powering his Giant TCR Advanced SL to a second stage victory and the overall classification in the UCI 2.1 French stage race.

Even before Jon's solo win into Peyreil on Thursday, the team's plan for the week was to deliver Jon safely to the foot of Mt Faron and launch him onto the steep, narrow climb in pursuit of overall victory. Although heavy overnight snow in the south of France led to a change in plans for the race organisers, who were forced to cut short the final stage, Jon and the team stuck to their plan and executed it brilliantly.

Earlier in the stage Johan Le Bon (Bretagne-Schuler) made a solo break at the 5km mark and managed to stay clear until just 10km to go where he was swept up on the final run in towards the climb of the Col du Corps de Gard. Jon enjoyed the support of him team mates to help maintain a good position within the bunch throughout the stage and as the road turned upwards, he attacked decisively, quickly opening up a gap which he maintained until he hit the improvised finishing line at the top the Col.

Jon's margin of victory on the stage was 17 seconds over Daniel Navarro (Saxo Bank) and Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone) and with time bonuses he overhauled overnight leader Michel Kreder (Garmin-Barracuda) to secure overall victory by 27 seconds.

Jon becomes the first British rider to add his name to an illustrious list of Tour Méditerranéen winners, which includes luminaries such as Eddy Merckx, Gianni Bugno and Laurent Jalabert.

Speaking after his emphatic win Jon Tiernan-Locke said:

"I was a bit nervous this morning, but it all went to plan today and the team did a great job keeping me in the right place to go for it at the end. We had to fight hard to keep out of trouble at the front of the bunch all day and at the bottom of the climb I was where I needed to be, so just went for it."

Julian Winn, Endura Racing Directeur Sportif confirmed that the Endura Racing victory was the perfect execution of the pre-race plan:

"Today's stage went perfectly to plan. Jon told us what he wanted from the team and what he could do today, but saying it and doing it are two very different things and to deliver as he did, shows remarkable ability - the mark of a champion. The lads turned themselves inside out to keep Jon out of trouble and to bring him into a great position for the final climb. We were a bit disappointed when we heard that Mr Faron was being cut out as that climb suits him, but he finished an amazing performance. No-one could catch him when he took off!"

The Endura Racing squad will remain in France this week before racing the Tour du Haut Var (UCI 2.1) next weekend. Learn more about the athletes pushing Giant's latest bicycles to the limit in our Teams & Riders section.

TIERNAN-LOCKE WINS OPENING STAGE OF TOUR MEDITERRANEEN

10th February 2012 - filed under Teamsriders

Jon Tiernan-Locke notched up Endura Racing's first win of the 2012 season with a win in the opening stage of the Tour Méditerranéen in Meyreuil, France today.

The opening stage of the 39th edition of the Tour Méditerranéen was shortened slightly to 132km as the unusually cold temperatures which have held mainland Europe in an icy grip over the past week, left the higher points of the original route covered in snow and ice.

Thomas Vaubourzeix (La Pomme Marseille) made an early escape and gained up to seven minutes on a peloton who were quite content to ride at a steady tempo for the first half of the stage, before mounting the chase in earnest.

Tiernan-Locke, best known as a climber after his King of the Mountain winning exploits at the 2011 Tour of Britain, spoiled the day for the sprinters with a well timed show of strength. Nominated as team leader for the Tour with thoughts of Sunday's fearsome queen stage on the slopes of Mt Faron in mind, a course recce on Wednesday identified that the final kilometres were anything but flat and the man from Devon made the most of the inclines to power away from the opposition as the race climbed into Meyreuil. It was a comfortable victory in the end over Yauheni Hutarovich (FDJ-Big Mat) and Sebastien Chavanel (Team Europcar), even if he wasn't sure as he crossed the line, Tiernan-Locke explains; 'Rene [Mandri] rode for 10km in the wind for me towards the end and kept me in a great position as we went over the hill around 5km to the line. I dropped back a little bit on the descent, but came back towards the front. I didn't really attack, but just rode them off my wheel. I wasn't sure if I'd won, so didn't go for a big celebration!'

Jon takes the yellow jersey and a 4 second lead on Hutarovich into Friday's second stage which runs from Salon de Provence to Martigues (136km).

ANTHEM X 29'ER GOES EPIC!

10th February 2012 - filed under Product

Journalists choose Giant to take on a challenge of a lifetime!

The Cape Epic is one of those events that all mountain bikers dream of. Taking place in dramatic scenery in South Africa and featuring some truly epic riding conditions as the name suggests. This year two journalists are taking the trip of a lifetime - and they chose the Giant Anthem X 29'er as the perfect machine for the challenge. In the first part of their story they write about their first impressions of the bikes that they hope will help them complete the challenge.

Giant Anthem X 29'er and the 2012 Cape Epic

Every year The Cape Epic takes place in South Africa and is all about big numbers 1200 riders, 781 km of riding, some 15000 of climbing over 8 days. We will be averaging 10 hours in the saddle for 8 days in dusty hot dry conditions in souring heat and pushing ourselves physically and mentally to succeed.

600 teams of two will be on the start line and in 2012 I (James Heraty) and my teammate Tobias Mews are heading to the start line to take on the race on every rider’s wish list. Between us Tobias and I have clocked up a number of solo endurance events including the Norseman Extreme Triathlon, 24hr Solo bike races, Ironman Triathlons, Trans Alpine (run) and the Marathon Des Sables, but we have never taken on anything quite like this multi stage challenge.

For the Absa Cape Epic we will both be riding the new Giant Anthem X 29er and here’s my thoughts following my first ride. I will warn you now if you want to find about how stiff the bike is, or how well the bike geometry affects the ride, there are plenty of reports already out there on those topics. However how did my first ride feel compared to my 26”, how did I feel post ride, could I go again just as fast the next day?
Why this bike?

Efficiency is the key with the Cape Epic and everyday is a long day in the saddle. So with the same amount of pedalling taking me further on a 29er, it’s got to be the wheel of choice. We need suspension to provide a smoother ride over the terrain to help keep our muscles fresher for longer. We need a bike that will point where we want it to go to avoid the fatigue of fighting for the right line.

First ride. I took the Giant up to Dartmoor, plenty of rocky terrain available, which will mirror the conditions out on South Africa well.

Downhill - the ride started with a very long rocky and sometimes technical descent down the valley bottom. The solid feel of the front end allowed to put the bike where I wanted it, conditions were wet at times but I was inspired and to go faster , filled with confidence at the grip provided and the whole bike felt less twitchy on the rough terrain. On sections with larger rocks and drops the bigger wheels meant I could keep my momentum and enjoy the free speed. Having completed a number of 24hr Solo races I have leant the key to success is to just keep riding and get into a rhythm and avoid stopping and starting all the time, with this in mind the new switch contact dropper post is a welcome addition.

Uphill – following a brief road section, I hit the loose rock track with its consent seated ascent all the way to the summit visible in the distance. The longer wheel base helped to enhance my confidence to attack the climb and avoid loosing any rhythm and maintain my heart rate. The wheels felt like they are digging in all the way to the top.

All the gear. I have very limited experience of 2 X 10 gearing, on my other bike I spend all my time on the middle ring so how different can it be? Answer very, I found I could keep my legs spinning all the time with speedy changes and no sudden muscle pounding quick changes. The transmission runs smoothly and quietly, silent in fact due to the lack of clicking in the free hub.

Conclusion – Having ridden the same route the previous week on my 26” to provide a comparison and actuate feedback. On completion, this week, I still felt full of energy and disappointed the ride was over. I have every confidence I have the perfect bike for the Cape Epic, which kicks off on March 25th where we will jump aboard the Anthem X 29er for 8 days straight. All bikes have their own character or personas, so following my first ride in battle I have named her The B.F.G (Big Friendly Giant). The quest is over; I have found the perfect weapon to take on the formidable Absa Cape Epic

Video: Ride Life - KK's Finest Hour

10th February 2012 - filed under Giant

Keith Ketterer, an inside sales rep at Giant USA, set a new world hour record for Masters Men age 55-59 on January 29 at the Home Depot Center Velodrome in Los Angeles. Find out how KK, who is 56, trained and prepared to ride his Giant Omnium 45.018 km in an hour!