In the world of road riding, the Paris-Roubaix is regarded as the most gruelling race in the world. Its cobbled stones and muddy paths make the racing conditions far from straightforward. It's hard enough being an athlete in this race, but for the world's premier bicycle manufacturers, the raceG provides one of the toughest challenges for their bikes.
Cervelo, launched in 1995 by Phil White and Gérard Vroomen, has quickly become the world leader in high performance road bikes. In conjunction with Team CSC, Cervelo have developed the R3 to take on the Paris-Roubaix and in so doing, have created arguably the best road bike on sale today. The result of this dedication – two wins in two years at the Paris-Roubaix. In April 2006, Fabian Cancellara took first place. 12 months later, Stuart O'Grady did the same.
The beauty of the Paris-Roubaix for research is that the cobbled stones mean the bike has to be very forgiving, whilst still being stiff and light for the climbs. So the general public can now buy a bike that is both suitable for relative beginners, due to the comfort, but equally perfect for the professional rider who races and trains daily.
The box shaped tubes are not shaped for aerodynamics (if out and out speed is your game, then Cervelo's Soloist is a better bet), but instead provide comfort and power transfer in equally great doses. Normally, a comfortable bike has more flex, causing power transfer to suffer, so having both attributes in the same frame is excellent.
Taking the R3 out on a Sunday morning 50 mile ride proved how great a bike this is. Starting out on quiet country roads gave a good indication of how quickly the frame transfers power, and then taking a more picturesque detour through a country park gave the R3 a taste of a gravel road. I rode through this in as much comfort as my mountain bike would.
So is this the perfect all round bike? Yes, in one word. In an ideal world, I'd have an R3 for the long rides, with a carbon Soloist standing by for triathlons and early morning sprints.
R3 Frameset (Frame, forks, headset and seatpost) - £1999
Louis Vuitton buys Yacht Manufacturer
The Louis Vuitton Group, LVMH, has purchased Dutch yacht manufacturer Royal van Lent. The yacht company make ultra high end yachts, with an average selling price of 30 million euros. The sellers are Dutch investment firm Egeria and the acquisition price is worth approximiately 11 times net profit.
Asics Inner Muscle Revolutionises Sport Clothing
High end sports clothing has recently gone down the route of tight elastic tops and shorts that initially appear about 4 sizes too small for the athlete. The theory is that the tops provide more overall support to muscles, which improves performance. Asics, a leading trainer company, has taken this technology one step further. Lusso took a look.
Topper chosen for Champion of Champions event
Topper Sailboats offer a range of 12 different boats for all abilities of sailor. They are highly regarded as having excellent construction quality and design. They have been chosen to be the craft of choice for the Endeavour Trophy at least up until 2010 and probably further into the future. Lusso have taken a closer look at this company to see how they do it.
Did Russian billionaire buy 496 million euro property?
Recently, it was reported that Villa Leopolda was sold to a Russian billionaire for just under 500 million euros. It soon revealed that Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov was behind the sale. As is the habit with Russian oligarchs, Prokhorov made his billions in precious metals. In 2007 he launched a $17 billion private investment fund, so he was definitely wealthy enough to purchase the property.
Issue 15, Available December 2008.
Travel Special
The ultimate in peace and quite. Lusso Magazine investigates the best island resorts in the world - it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.
Ultimate Toys
Super yacht tenders, powerboats, motorbikes and super cars, we serve up the usual dose of high octane machinery.
And the regulars...
Brian Ebbesen, Arash Farboud, Nick English and others all share their views
The Value for Luxury Market
“Doug,Very interested in your article on EOS and this is something I am trying to re-create ...” By Nigel Worrall 27 September 2008
