The final weekend before Christmas has been and gone, the school holidays have begun and, let’s face it, if you’ve not sorted your Christmas shopping you’re in a spot of bother.
But fear not – if you’re still struggling for gift ideas for the cyclist in your life, we’ve got you covered with our last-minute Christmas gift guide.
From gift vouchers to sportive entries to socks, there’s still time to bag a gift – or print it off – and look like you didn’t forget to go out and buy anything.
Indoor training has undergone a revolution and logging long hours on the turbo trainer has never been so good.
While nothing beats the feeling of fresh air on your face, sun on your back and the stunning backdrops you can enjoy when you’re out on two wheels, indoor training is often a necessary evil.
And online gamification systems such as Zwift, where subscribers can ride ‘with’ other users around the world on virtual roads and in virtual races are helping to take the boredom aspect out of turbo sessions.
A subscription to Zwift costs £8/$10 a month, so as long as your cycling nearest and dearest have a turbo trainer and the necessary ANT+/Bluetooth sensors, it’s the perfect gift to help with winter training.
If the cyclist in your life has refused to succumb to winter, and is continuing to crank the pedals whatever the weather, Chapeau’s Winter Warrior bundle is the gift for them.
Offering cycling caps, winter gloves and knee warmers for a combined £65 – that’s a £15 saving – Chapeau! present the kit as being suitable not only for winter, but the shoulder seasons too.
The polyester cap is built for versatility and breathability; the gloves feature water and wind resistant outers combined with a warm inner liner; and the single-seam knee warmers, with thigh grippers and textured inners have been designed and built with UK riding specifically in mind.
Last ordering day for standard delivery is December 21, while next day express delivery can still be ordered, in time for Christmas delivery, on December 22.
Socks. Everyone loves them, and everyone needs them. And Condor have paired Christmas socks with cycling socks with these Winter Print Merino Socks.
They complement the Condor Winter Bobble Hat we featured in our stocking filler guide, but these – unlike the hat – boast performance qualities for the winter ride too.
Crafted from a merino wool blend, as the name suggests, the socks are both moisture-wicking and temperature regulating, with hand-locked seams for extra durability and to prevent rubbing.
You can click and collect from Condor Cycles as late as 3pm on Christmas Eve, but if it’s delivery you’re after, you have until 4pm on December 22.
The Etape du Tour is one of Europe’s most popular sportives, and features high on the must-ride list of many cyclists.
Offering the chance to ride a Tour de France stage before the pros follow suit a few days later, this year’s course runs from Briancon to Izoard on Sunday July 16.
Following the same route as the pros will use for stage 18 of the Tour, four days later, the 178km route includes the Col de Vars and a summit finish atop the Col d’Izoard.
Entry costs €100 and is available at ASO Challenges, while packages can be bought through travel operators like Sports Tours International.
Apparel brand Prendas have been long-term supporters of the Dave Rayner Fund, and their retro Raleigh Banana jersey is the latest garment to see £10 donated to the Fund with every sale.
The Fund, set up after the death of British cyclist Dave Rayner, supports young British riders racing abroad.
Rayner, who died following an altercation with a bouncer outside a nightclub, rode for Raleigh Banana in 1988 and 1989, in the team’s eye-catching blue, black and yellow kit.
And Prendas have now brought the jersey back to the marketplace: manufactured by Santini, the jersey is true to the original design but using modern performance fabrics.
Last day for delivery – Special Delivery Saturday Guaranteed – is Friday December 23.
British cyclists logged 27.4 million rides on Strava last year, with more and more people signing up to the popular route mapping and tracking app.
But it’s not just good for bragging about your rides and chasing KOM/QOM titles on your local climbs – Strava can also be a valuable training tool.
Strava Premium offers advanced analysis, personalised coaching and live feedback – you can read more on how to make the most of Strava here.
A monthly subscription costs £5.99, whereas an annual subscription is £44.99.
If you’ve really left it too late, then a gift voucher is a failsafe gift for the very last minute.
But where to look? Wiggle, Chain Reaction Cycles and Evans Cycles all offer gift vouchers, and with their own in-house brands alongside stocking the best products from some of cycling’s biggest brands, there’s plenty of choice for the cyclist in your life to spend the voucher on.
Wiggle offer gift vouchers from £5 to £100 here; Chain Reaction Cycles offer vouchers from £1 to £100; and Evans Cycles’ vouchers go from £5 to £200.
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