FLASH-POINT BLOGGER: IAIN ASHWORTH

Although the Tour of Britain was finishing in London today I decided to head over to this years British Time Trial Championships in Hampshire, purely as a spectator I’m afraid. The course was a roughly 11 mile rolling, twisty circuit through the lanes and small stretch on a main road. The senior men rode 3 laps while everyone else rode 2. No one had it easy; the roads remained open throughout the event and were packed with Sunday traffic. They were brave riders indeed to be doing near 30mph on roads with traffic like today.Unfortunately British cycling’s Olympic hero Bradley Wiggins was unable to participate due to commitments on the continent with his Cofidis team (he is starting the Tour of Poland tomorrow). It’s always good to wander round events like these and check out all the kit people are using. There was lots of Zipp stuff of course, although no sight of any other Flash-Points. I am still keeping an eye out for any mention of the wheels here in the UK and on the web. Although I am yet to read an official test from the big magazines, I have seen more very positive comments from riders out on the forums. One reviewer did mention that the decals were not to their taste, but as already mentioned by other Fanatics and DevBlog-gers this is no longer an issue because the new white decals look great. Not that I mind riding around with the originals, I still think they look pretty good.Congratulations to Bri on the "Flash-Point" win.

This blog is probably not the place to start commenting on the state of cycling but I will just say that after all the pre-race problems this year's Tour de France has thankfully managed to shine through all the dark clouds that are threatening to cast a shadow over the sport. Landis was amazing and truly deserving of his victory. So the American dominance continues, but with racing like that I can't see anyone complaining.Well, as the riders get ready to hang up the wheels for a few days I am doing the opposite and returning to riding after a three week break. I thought returning after the break was going to be hard work with my body not forgiving me for the neglect but things are going surprisingly well. I have been sticking to a couple of faster more undulating routes avoiding too many traffic stops and the steepers hills. In my opinion these are the types of rides that the Flashpoints are best for, where their smooth rolling and speed really make a difference.More photos - the bike.

Like a true Brit I shall start by talking about the weather. Conditions here in the UK have slowly been improving over the last few weeks. The skies are bluer and the days are warmer, the only downside is best days always seem to be workdays. Anyway, it's given me the opportunity to get some long rides in and I have been trying out new routes and trying to mix up my rides a bit. The picture was taken from the ridge of hills that run through my home county, I know it looks flat but if you take the right roads it's possible to find some quite challenging routes.The Flash-Points have been going really well and are yet to need any truing. I have found them really comfortable on the longer rides. I'm getting so used to them that I've forgotten how my other wheels feel. So, tomorrow I am changing the Flash-Points for my Mavics and going out to try to get a good comparison to report on.