Women’s Tour de Yorkshire 2016

ChTHltTWgAEPmsBWords by Anna Magrath Images by Chris Maher

 

Record Crowds for Spectacular Day 2 of Tour de Yorkshire

Over one million spectators came out to cheer on the riders for the second day of the Tour de Yorkshire, as the county celebrated a ground breaking day for women’s cycling.
Glorious sunshine started the day in Otley for the hotly anticipated Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race where World Champion Lizzie Armitstead led the peloton out of her hometown.
Crowds bigger than those who witnessed the Grand Départ in Otley cheered on as 100 of the world’s best female riders took part including Rio hopeful Emma Pooley; Dani King and Lucy Garner from British squad Wiggle High5, Hitec Products brought one of the world’s strongest sprinters Kirsten Wild and Dame Sarah Storey took part – Great Britain’s most decorated female Paralympian in history.
Speaking before the start Lizzie Armitstead, racing in her World Champions jersey for the first time in the UK, paid tribute to her home town of Otley and the immense support she was receiving.
The 136km race was a game changer for women’s cycling in the UK as it took the same route as the men’s and offered over £50,000 (€63,623) – currently the biggest prize pot in women’s cycling.
The winner of the Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire was Kirsten Wild from Team Hitec Products who crossed the finish line in Doncaster before thousands of cheering fans.

Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said:

“Today has been an historic day for women’s cycling and it’s been a spectacular day of racing. The crowds were once again phenomenal and to see how the people of Yorkshire have taken this event to their hearts is just overwhelming. There was so much spirit and positivity in Yorkshire today it was magnificent to see. Clearly the one thing we would have changed if we could was the fact we had intermittent live TV coverage but I must stress that safety is paramount. Unfortunately there was a serious technical fault with the plane relaying the TV signal, the plane had to be grounded and the TV coverage could not continue for this reason.

“Fans and communities have continued their spectacular support for the Tour de Yorkshire not just from the routes but also digitally by sharing images, footage and updates to keep the public informed. Please keep tweeting and following @letouryorkshire and we will be putting highlights online tonight.
“We are now focussed on the day ahead tomorrow from Middlesbrough to Scarborough which promises to be an exhilarating race!”

ChTEvB2UoAADB7-Kirsten Wild:  The plan was to let a little group go with one of us in the break, unfortunately that didn’t work out, the girls did a good chase and we caught them in the final, it was really good work. The sprint was hard, I started a bit too early, and I thought maybe not, there was a really strong headwind, so I let one girl pass and I could follow her and then pass her in the final again. There were a lot of people on the roadside it was really nice to have that support. It’s good to win here in Doncaster.

Lucy Garner: “I couldn’t quite get around Kirsten for the sprint, everyone know she’s an awesome sprinter, she’s definitely the one to beat here today in a sprint, actually for me I’ve not been 100% healthy coming into this race so I couldn’t have asked for more today, especially from my team Wiggle High-5, they did an awesome job to bring the three that were away back. It would have been great if we had a rider up in the break, so we did have to work hard to bring them back but there were other teams working with us who also wanted a sprint finish. We caught the back [of the train] with 4km to go and then it was just a case of focusing on the sprint finish. We knew we had to look out for Lizzie [Armitstead] she’s on great form this season and has won so many races, it’s just lucky for us her breakaway didn’t stay away.”

Lizzie Armitstead: “I wanted to put on an aggressive race and a bit of a show, it’s what it’s all about cycling, it’s a bit of an entertainment show at the end of the day. I wanted to be able to get stuck in and have a go. There were a couple of moments where I thought we could stay away [from the peloton] we were holding them at about a minute and the team car came up and they told us the organisation in the chase is not very good so just keep plugging away, but when we tried towards Doncaster and it was just a block headwind we weren’t getting above 45km per hour I thought, right they are going to be closing that gap pretty quickly. 

By the time we were caught I’d burnt all my matches, I tried to get stuck in and help some of the younger girls on my team but actually they didn’t need it, they were quicker than me, so i was really proud of the way GB rode today, there are some young girls in the team and I think they have very bright futures. The course lived up to my expectations, in fact it was better, stating in Otley it was a goose pimple moment. All along the course there were people shouting so thank you to everyone who turned out.”

 

Jersey winners:

Overall, the winner of the blue Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire jersey was Kirsten Wild; her Hitech teammate Lauren Kitchen took the navy jersey of the Aunt Bessie’s sprint; Rossella Ratto of Cyclance Pro Cycling won the pink Mug Shot Queen of the Mountain jersey; the Howden’s Joinery/RNLI white jersey for best young newcomer went to Lucy Garner and the purple best team classification was awarded by Doncaster Sheffield Airport/Flybe to the Great Britain team.

 

 

More images and interviews from the race to come so watch this space!

Heather Bamforth Finalist for Ambassador of Women’s Sport Award

Heather Bamforth Reporting from the Cheshire Classic - Image © Colin Batchelor

So do you remember just a few weeks ago I brought you the news that our writer Heather Bamforth had been shortlisted for the #BeAGameChanger Women’s Sport Trust – Ambassador of Women’s Sport Award? Well the talented lady has only gone and beaten some formidable talent to the final (Judy Murray being one well know name who has fallen by the wayside). Heather will line up against two very well respected women; Ebony Rainford-Brent (cricketer) and Maureen McGonigle (Scottish Women in Sport advocate) for the final.

But lets not sit back… Heather needs all the support we can muster in the cycling community from both men and women to enable her to lift the trophy to represent all cyclists. So please take two seconds to drop by the Women’s Trust website and cast a well deserved vote in Heather’s direction. We can do this!

 

If my nagging hasn’t persuaded you here is a bit more about Heather:

Heather Bamforth has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to increase the number of opportunities for women in competitive cycling, and has done so as a volunteer in her spare time.

She joined the Cyclingshorts.cc writing team in 2012 where she actively promotes women’s cycling, and the inaugural North West women’s series in 2013, which featured groundbreaking grassroots road racing for women, this was Heather’s brainchild.

12993454_10154741972663332_131275939772403120_nIn 2014, along with three others Heather established The Racing Chance Foundation, a registered charity which provides women with a pathway in competitive cycling from novice to elite level.

Racing Chance has already coached over 200 women and inspired similar series across the UK that have resulted in British Cycling seeing an increase in female membership, with female racing licences increasing from 800 in 2012 to over 1,500 in 2015.

Heather spends an enormous amount of time helping to get women cycling by running training rides, with training sessions on closed circuits to help novices build confidence and skills before venturing onto the roads, along with events which are suitable for women who want to try road racing for the first time.

During the day Heather has a full time career, working in Restructuring Services for Mazars LLP, an international accountancy and business advisory firm.

 

About the Women’s Sports Trust:

Women’s Sports Trust are a charity that identifies and promotes a diverse range of role models, they find ways to shift the funding landscape for women’s sport and increase the percentage and quality of media coverage women receive.

 

http://www.womenssporttrust.com/ambassador-womens-sport-2016/

 

While I’ve got your ear cycling feature in the following categories as finalists. Please give them a vote too…

Sporting Role Model – Individual – Helen Wyman

Sponsor Partnership of the Year – Queensway Print/Drops Cycling Team

Inspiring Initative – National Award – Aviva Women’s Tour

Inspiring Initiate Award Local/Grassroots – Abergavenny Road Club

 

 

2016 Tour Of The Reservoir Garner & Moses Claim Stage One Victories

All images ©www.chrismaher.co.uk / CyclingShorts.cc

 

Garner And Moses Claim Stage One Victories By A Wheels Length In The 2016 Tour Of The Reservoir.

 

Podium Ambition P/B Club La Santa’s Grace Garner and JLT Condor’s Thomas Moses both win the first Tour of the Reservoir stage by a narrow margin in a last effort kick for the line.

The Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir’s Women’s Race started the days action off, after an hours delay due to the return of more overnight Wintery weather.

Four girls made an initial break once they were on the Kermese Style circuit course of the Dam Wall. The main group then reformed by lap three in this reduced ten-lap race.

This second in the Women’s Road Series event had attracted an twenty-percent more field than the Men’s event, but the promise of harsh conditions and poor health had reduced the sign-on to eighty-one riders starting the day.

It all came down to the final big bunch sprint across the Dam Wall with Garner just edging out Lowther across the line.

It’s Grace Garner’s first visit to the Tour of the Resevoir, and she’ll start stage two in the Pink Champion System’s leaders Jersey.

Tom Moses victory came after a gruelling seven lap circuit of Derwent Water Reservoir.

An active Peloton from the start saw a lone escapee after the official Start. Neon Velo’s Jeremy Durrin attacked on the first lap, but got reeled back for the start of lap two.

Madison Genesis’s Matt Cronshaw broke free soon after and gained around a minute, taking the first Prime of the race.

A second rider bridged across Harry Tanfield, Pedal Heaven, followed by a third, Tom Moses. With eight more trying to bridge. The lead had been reduced to 20s according to race radio.

Moses took the second Prime and the trio had build a 1.23s lead.

Cronshaw drifted back towards the Peloton as the time gap reduced to 20s once more.

Over the third Prime, the original break-away had all but been caught, but a five man group counter-attacked on the far-side of the Reservoir, Moses being one of them, they soon had a three minute lead.

As the race drew to it’s conclusion, it looked like the Winner would come from this group of five with Adria Moreno Sala, Raleigh GAC, Jonny McEvoy, NFTO, Joe Fry, Pedal Heaven and Taylor Gunman, Madison Genesis making up the other four places.

A hard fought reverse climb to the finish-line saw Moses clinch the victory narrowly from McEvoy, who will wear the Champion Systems Yellow Jersey on stage two.

 

Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir

1: Grace Garner, Podium Ambition P/B Club La Santa

2: Melissa Lowther, Team Breeze

3: Charline Joiner, Team Ford Ecoboost

 

Motorpoint Spring Cup

1: Tom Moses, JLT Condor

2: Jon McEvoy, NFTO

3: Joe Fry, Pedal Heaven

Jersey sponsors unveiled for Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race

Aunt Bessie’s unveiled as sponsor of Queen of the Sprint jerseyimage001
Flybe and Doncaster Sheffield Airport unveiled as co-sponsors of the Team Classification jersey
Aunt Bessie’s has been announced as the sponsor of the Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race. The two-year deal will see Aunt Bessie’s secure exclusive rights of the race’s coveted Queen of the Sprint jersey.

There are two sprints at Scholes and Warmsworth during the 135km stage between Otley and Doncaster.

This is Aunt Bessie’s first sponsorship of a professional cycling race which came about after the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire in 2015 inspired a group of Aunt Bessie’s employees to cycle across the country for charity.

Aunt Bessie’s is part of 165-year-old family business, the William Jackson Food Group. They started making Yorkshire puddings for Butlin’s Holiday Camps in 1974 and has been based in Yorkshire ever since. Aunt Bessie’s has grown considerably and now offers a range of tasty food enjoyed by millions of people up and down the country every week.

Sprint Jersey

Lorraine Rothwell, Marketing Director for Aunt Bessie’s, said:
“At Aunt Bessie’s we’re proud of our Yorkshire roots and of the food that we make. We were avid supporters of the first Tour de Yorkshire and we’re really excited to be sponsoring the Women’s Sprint this year in what will no doubt prove to be another fantastic cycling event.”

Following the news that Doncaster Sheffield Airport and Flybe have become the official airport and airline partner for Welcome to Yorkshire and the unveiling of a cycling themed plane, flying between Yorkshire and European destinations, the airport and airline have teamed up to sponsor the Team Classification jersey.

This jersey will be awarded to the women’s team with the highest ranking total team finish and was selected by Doncaster Sheffield Airport and Flybe to symbolise the fantastic partnership between the two companies that has resulted in an extra 42 flights per week departing from the airport. The one year deal will see Doncaster Sheffield Airport and Flybe secure exclusive rights of the Team Classification jersey.

Best Team Jersey

Steve Gill, Managing Director of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said:

“We are excited to be sponsoring the Team Classification jersey for the Women’s Race in the Tour De Yorkshire along with Flybe.
“This will be a fantastic event for Yorkshire and we are delighted to be further strengthening our relationship with Welcome to Yorkshire to provide our support to this event.
“We are really pleased that through our new Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam routes with Flybe, we can offer international spectators an easy way to come to watch the race and then hopefully stay on for a longer break in Yorkshire.”

Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire‎ said:

“We already know that the Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race ‎is going to take professional women’s cycling in this country to another level and I am delighted to have signed up three more fantastic partners for the race.
“Aunt Bessie’s are a Yorkshire company that takes their community engagement extremely seriously and their new commitment to women’s cycling is an important part of that. The sprint classification will be decided over two challenging sprint sections and I’m sure Aunt Bessie’s will make their presence felt on that part of the race as they join the crowds to cheer on the riders.
“I am thrilled that we have been able to take our partnership with Doncaster Sheffield Airport and Flybe, which is already flying high, to the next level. Their commitment to the Team Classification means that we can showcase some of the superstars of tomorrow.”

Aunt Bessie’s and Doncaster Sheffield Airport/ Flybe will have a vehicle in the Tour de Yorkshire Caravan which will travel in between the women’s and men’s races on Saturday 30 April stopping in approximately six locations along the route, details of which will be announced shortly.

MuleBar Tour of Northumberland 2016 Gallery & Race Report

 

A cracking start on Easter Sunday for Fusion RT Fierlan’s Angela Hibbs at the MuleBar Tour of Northumberland 2016 Two Day event.

Sprinting up-to the line after a gruelling seventy-seven kilometre Circuit of Whalton four lap race. Angela had timed her effort to perfection to clinch the stage victory over Podium Ambition Pro Cycling p/b Club La Santa’s Amy Gornall and Team Vertex-pedalpowersport.com’s Karen Poole, picking up a five-second bonus too, with three for second and two for third.

MuleBar Tour of Northumberland 2016 | Stage TwoThe blustery winds and threat of torrential downpours all added to the drama as the race un-folded.

The race had set-off hard, but then brought to a halt a couple of miles after the official start that delayed the race for five minutes before re-starting neutralised. The women’s race had been incorporated with-in the third/fourth category race.

They set of again, but not as hard. Once they went up the first drag the group split, leaving many of the third/ forth Cat lads and most of the women in little groups behind.

The trio of women rode the rest of their race in a group of around thirty, rolling through and helping to drive the peloton along.

A couple of the lads went off the front of the group, but strong headwinds made it too difficult to try and bridge any gap alone. So stayed in the shelter of the main group.

As the final kilometre approached, the women were allowed to contest their finish and they looked at each other before Angela set about her final charge to the line. Amy and Karen were close behind, but didn’t have the power to reel her back-in.

Amy Gornall, “I’ll see how my legs feel. I’ll try and hang in as it’s a little hillier and a bit of a harder race tomorrow.”

Karen Poole, “I’ll re-evaluate my strategy for tomorrow, I could have done things better today. My legs are good, and I feel good.”

Angela Hibbs “With half a lap to go two guys went on the attack so I went with them. Then they sat-up and I though ahh! I kept going. When I looked behind, they were on my wheel dragging Amy and Karen along”.

The guys were asked hang back and let the Women contest their race unimpeded on the final run up-to the finish line.

“I didn’t want it to come down to a sprint, I wanted to avoid that at all costs! I just kept the pace high and the power high”, I got to the farm and just upped the pace and the power and hoped they wouldn’t come around”.

 

MuleBar Tour of Northumberland 2016 | Stage One Women's PodiumStage One Results

1: Angela Hibbs Fusion RT Fierlan +00.05

2: Amy Gornall Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa +00.03

3: Karen Poole Team Vertex-pedalpowersport.com +00.02

4: Anna Turvey Tyneside Vagabonds

5: Rachel Crighton Team22 WRT

6: Sarah Bradford Team Jadan Weldtite

7: Charli Alston Team22 WRT

8: Gemma Sargent Aprire HSS Hire

9: Jennifer Batey Team Vertex-pedalpowersport.com

10: Hannah Farran Manilla Cycling

11: Libby Denby Team22 WRT

12: Katharine Broadbent GB Cycles.co.uk

13: Flora Gillies Team22 WRT

14: Nikki Metcalf Manilla Cycling

15: Jessica Millar Johnstone Wheelers CC

 

MuleBar Tour of Northumberland 2016 | Stage Two Women's PodiumStage Two Results

1: Angela Hibbs Fusion RT Fierlan +00.05

2: Karen Poole Team Vertex-pedalpowersport.com +00.03

3: Gemma Sargent Aprire HSS Hire +00.02

4: Anna Turvey Tyneside Vagabonds

5: Sarah Bradford Team Jadan

6: Rachel Crighton Team22 WRT

7: Hannah Farran Manilla Cycling

8: Charli Alston Team22 WRT

9: Jennifer Batey Team Vertex-pedalpowersport.com

10: Katharine Broadbent GB Cycles.co.uk

11: Nikki Metcalfe Manilla Cycling

12: Jessica MillarJohnstone Wheelers CC

 

General Classification

1: Angela Hibbs Fusion RT Fierlan

2: Karen Poole Team Vertex-pedalpowersport.com

3: Gemma Sargent Aprire HSS Hire

4: Anna Turvey Tyneside Vagabonds

5: Sarah Bradford Team Jadan

6: Rachel Crighton Team22 WRT

7: Charli Alston Team22 WRT

8: Jennifer Batey Team Vertex-pedalpowersport.com

9: Hannah Farran Manilla Cycling

10: Katharine Broadbent GB Cycles.co.uk

11: Nikki Metcalfe Manilla Cycling

12: Jessica MillarJohnstone Wheelers CC

 

A double win gives Fusion RT Fierlan’s Angela Hibb the General Classification Victory in the MuleBar Tour of Northumberland 2016. Riding safely within the main bunch on this testing course in the wind, Angela set her plan in motion and executing her move perfectly to add momentum to her early season programme. Angela will be tackling the Manx International GP Feminin Women’s Road Series Season opener, before returning to Northumberland and round two of the Women’s Road Series, the Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir.

MuleBar Tour of Northumberland 2016 | Stage TwoAngela Hibbs “We had a similar set-up to yesterday, there were three of us [Angela, Karen & Gemma Sargent] in the main group, but we had Gemma this time. The men didn’t seem to have the power to go, and they came back straight away. 

On the last lap I kind of knew when I wanted to go! Which was after the climb and you turn left. It was fast with a few up-to drags. I wanted to go with a mile and a half or two miles to go, same as yesterday. My “TT” legs felt good and I wanted to avoid the sprints, so I just went hard”.

“I’m dead chuffed” said Angela afterwards. “I’m doing the Isle of Man in two weeks and the Tour of the Reservoir after that”.

A great effort by Team Jadan Weldtite’s Sarah Bradford in race two sticking with the main bunch until a mechanical on the second lap climb, when her chain dropped hampering her progress. Quickly getting going, Sarah found a difficult head wind and her lower gearing working against her in her effort to catch the main bunch, eventually settling into a small group until the end.

MuleBar Tour of Northumberland 2016 | Stage One“That was fun” she chuckled heading back to HQ after the race. Sarah had hoped for the weather to deteriorate a little, saying the she preferred slightly harsher conditions.

A good ride by the Team22WRT girls completing the two day event with some good miles in their legs, and practice for the Alexandra Women’s Tour of the Reservoir just along the road in a couple of weeks. That race has a full Women’s field and is part of the 2016 Women’s Road Series.

A great ride by Johnstone Wheelers CC Jess Millar completing her first big race, gaining valuable experience on this demanding course so early in the Season. Jess has also signed up for the Alexandra Women’s Tour of the Reservoir too!

 

Men’s Nat B Results

Stage One

1: Joshua Jones

2: Harry Tanfield Pedal Heaven

3: David Shackleton Wilsons Wheels Race Team

4: Adan Duggleby The NAB Racing

5: Steven Lawley

6: Martin Ford Planet X Northside Cycling

7: Carl Donaldson GS Metro

8:  Richard Jones Planet X Northside Cycling

9: Ben Harrison Prima Team Racing

10: William Brown Planet X Northside Cycling

 

Stage Two

1: Steven Lawley

2: David Shackleton Wilsons Wheels Race Team

3: Martin Ford Planet X Northside Cycling

4: James Moss MTS Cycle Sport SCott RT

5: Russell Falder Mammoth Lifestyle Racing Team

6: Dominic Schils Massi Kuwait Cycling Project

7: Mark Robertson Army Cycling Race Team (ACRT)

8: Richard Jones Planet X Northside Cycling

9: Kieran Savage University of Sheffield

10: Freddie Jagger Muckle Cycle Club

 

General Classification

1: Steven Lawley

2: David Shackleton Wilsons Wheels Race Team

3: Martin Ford Planet X Northside Cycling

4: Dominic Schils Massi Kuwait Cycling Project

5: James Moss MTS Cycle Sport SCott RT

6: Joshua Jones

7: Richard Jones Planet X Northside Cycling

8: Benedict Spencer Loughborough Students CC

9: Timothy Holme Plant X Northside Cycling

10: Adan Duggleby The NAB Racing

 

Women’s Road Series 2016

Round One: 10 April, Manx International GP Feminin, 121 Kms

Round Two: April 16 2016, Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir

Round Three: May 15 2016, Lincoln GP

Round Four: May 29 2016, North Bucks Festival of Cycling

Round Five: June 11 & 12 2016, Essex Giro Two Day

Round Six: June 19 2016, Curlew Cup

Round Seven: June 29 2016, Otley GP

Round Eight: July 10 2016, Ryedale GP

 

 

 

ICON Intelligent Lights Review

ICONIntelligent Lights

Established in 2013, a Northern-Irish based start up company called See.Sense, Kickstarter funded ICON intelligent lights.

I tested the rear ICON light which has two 95 lumen CREE LEDs and retails at £64.99.

The box contained 2 x rubber mounts, USB cable, the light and a simple, clear user guide.

The set of front and rear is £119.99 and the 30% brighter ICON+ is also available at £149.99 for the set.

ICON is primarily designed as a ‘to be seen’ light, giving up to 270 degrees of side visibility.  This is ideal in urban environments. The front ICON has twin LED’s, one with a focused beam, and one with a dispersed beam. According to See.Sense 80% of accidents happen in daylight and the ICON is certainly bright enough to be visible in daylight.

ICONStreet

So what is so clever about it…..?

Within 2 minutes of opening the package I had downloaded the app and connected the light with my iphone via Bluetooth. The app allows you to:

  • Check your battery level
  • ICONImage-3Change from flashing light to constant
  • Customise your lights to optimise your brightness/run-time using a simple slider
  • Control multiple lights at once
  • Set auto-on/off, which automatically turns off your light after 3 minutes of inactivity, or if you walk more than 3 metres from your light
  • Turn on theft alert, the light will then send you an alert if anything or anyone disturbs your bike to a range of up to 15 metres
  • Turn on crash alert, if you have a crash, ICON knows and will send a text to your nominated contact for help, which you can cancel if you are ok
  • Download firmware and application updates as new features become available

The battery life is up to 15 hours (5hr charge) on flashing mode and on the light itself there is a mini LED to indicate battery level, green for 75%+ and red for less than 25%. The app gives a more accurate battery level and you can adjust the brightness of your light using the app, so it’s easy to maximise your battery life if you’re running low.

I am not sure I would ever adjust brightness/flashing with app myself, but it was fun initially dazzling the family!

See.Sense say the theft detection is ideal for the coffee stop, but would I leave my bike locked outside cafe with a £120 of lights still attached? And perhaps the alarm should be on the light, not the phone to scare away the thief? Having said that it worked and I did indeed get the alert when the light was moved.

I like the crash alert feature as I often ride alone, but the most impressive thing about the light is that it adapts to its environment, increasing its brightness and flash rate to keep you more visible in riskier situations such as junctions, roundabouts, filtering in traffic and to approaching car headlights. If you are in an urban setting, where there is a higher level of ambient lighting from street lighting and approaching cars at night, ICON will automatically adjust to be less bright. It is the only light in the world that can react to road junctions, filtering traffic, roundabouts and car headlights.

Even more intelligent is the fact that ICON will soon monitor your environment. It can monitor road surfaces, crashes, near-miss events, light levels, temperature levels and routes taken. With your permission data will be uploaded to the cloud and aggregated data can then be shared with councils to provide information for cycling infrastructure provision, pothole repairs and identify hot spot areas where there are a high frequency of  ‘near-miss’ events and crashes.

Philip McAleese, CEO of See.Sense said, “It is our hope that ICON will help to ignite a cycling revolution. Not only does ICON enhance the cycling experience through improved safety and convenience, it also has the potential to empower cyclists to influence their cities through the use of highly accurate, crowd-sourced data. This can create smarter and better cities for everyone.”

It comes with a 12 month warranty and is weather sealed, the website actually shows it being dropped in a jug of water and mine has been soaked several times in winter rain and road spray with no adverse effects.

However after about 6 rides the on/off button became somewhat intermittent requiring a really hard press at an angle to switch the light on as if something is perhaps loose or out of alignment behind it.

The light itself is bulky and doesn’t have the aesthetic appeal of some of the other lights on the market; one rider even went so far as to call it ‘ugly’.

Overall it is bright, functional and easy to fit. It is certainly visible and I even received a couple of complaints about how bright it is! Gadget lovers will like the app and although I hope I never need it, I feel reassured by the crash alert. It will be interesting to see how much data See.Sense is able to collect in the future and how this is used, anything that improves the cycling infrastructure and safety must be a good thing.

Watch this space… Visit seesense.cc website.

 

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