Gapped Cycling: Recent Episodes
Gapped
Lands End to John O'Groats remains the pinnacle of any cyclists ambition. Glenn, Jabir & Irfan remain among the few Muslims to have ever completed the challenge, riding across the length of Britain, taking in hundreds of climbs and well over a thousand miles.
The podcast dives into their journey and experience and shares insights on what to expect if you sign up with the ever-popular Ride Across Britain!
The Solstice Sprint, now in its third year has quickly become a mainstay in the UK Ultra Cycling calendar.
Liam dives into the creation of the event and tips to get round without too much trouble!
Are you racing an ultra this year? Let us know!
Karim Ali co-founded the Gaza Sunbirds a few years ago to support riders in Gaza to establish their Paralympic Dream.
In their own words
'We are building a professional para-cycling team in the Gaza Strip, to pave the way for amputees in Gaza and around the world to rise above through determination and excellence in sport. We are taking you on his journey with us until the day we proudly raise the Palestinian flag on the world stage.
There is no price for hope. There is no price for freedom. We are the Gaza Sunbirds, and this is our flight!'
It is heart-wrenching to hear the current plight of the team and the people of Gaza.
You can follow and support their work via Twitter & Instagram, as well as their website - https://www.gazasunbirds.org/
We welcome another British talent, Lukas Nerurkar, who like Dylan Hicks on the recent podcast came up through Preston Park.
He had an incredible season with Trinity Racing which caught the eye of the World Tour, including EF Education EasyPost who have tied him to a 3-year contract.
We have him on to share his insights into the world's largest stage!
Welcome to another Gapped podcast!
Dylan is only 19 but has already had an incredible journey into cycling, one we wish to explore for other aspiring riders, who are aiming for the higher echelons of the sport!
He shares his journey from Preston Park, Brighton to the GB Squad and racing on the continent!
Enjoy!
Salaam, it has indeed been a while, we do apologise!
But we are back alhumdulillah, introducing the Gapped Race Team for 2024. Exciting times!
Pog walks away with this one, did you expect anything less?
Transfer news and a look ahead to 2024!
The worlds resulted in an incredible breakaway from MVDP, with Remco nicking the TT title. And Jumbo gave us an absolute masterclass in the Vuelta!
Rob & I break down the highlights of the tour and what went so wrong for two time winner Pogacar. We also look forward to the Worlds in Glasgow!
Tabs has just about recovered from his gruelling ride completing the Pan Celtic Race, one of a handful of Muslims to enter and complete an Ultra here in the UK!
He goes into his prep, the ride, and how it is being an ultra-distance scholar!
We are truly honored to have Safiya Alsayegh, the consecutive UAE national champion, as our esteemed guest on the show. Currently engrossed in a rigorous training camp in Bergamo, Safiya is pushing her limits and preparing to make her mark in the world of professional cycling.
In this captivating episode, Safiya offers us a glimpse into her life as a Muslim cyclist, deftly navigating the challenge of early Fajr times in Europe while pursuing her professional career. Her resilience and determination are truly awe-inspiring.
With grace and generosity, Safiya shares a treasure trove of insights and wisdom, taking us on a thrilling journey into the exhilarating world of professional cycling. She sheds light on the intricacies of her own journey as a world tour pro.
Safiya's unwavering passion for bridging the gap between riders in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe's top talent is nothing short of remarkable.
Join us on this extraordinary episode as we delve deep into Safiya's experiences, aspirations, and the challenges she has overcome.
Don't miss out on this truly incredible conversation! Tune in now to hear Safiya's remarkable story on our podcast. It's a conversation that will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression.
On the eve of the Tour, Rob & I break down the Parcours, stages and teams for the upcoming 3-week race!
Hot takes from all the World Tour races of late - Pidcocks win at Stradé, Roglic and Pog dominating in week long races in France & Italy, and finally, VDP's dominant win in MSR!
Salaam!
Ramadaan is upon us, and that means the start of the Fasted 500 challenge! We've had podcasts on the challenge before (Episode 6 & 16!), but we couldn't not have on Zahir again, talking about it all. If you haven't seen the new roundel, be sure to check it out! Perhaps the best yet.
Challenge aside - Shimano have released what could be the biggest groupset announcement in decades with the release of Cues, and SRAM have also given their Force groupset a facelift. We dive into both of those and also, finally, Cannondale's new Supersix!
Salaam & welcome to another episode. Today we have on Abdulrahman, from Kuwait! He started his cycling journey out in Portland, USA, before moving back to his home country, Kuwait.
He starts by talking about how he lost half of his body weight, before becoming a cyclist advocate in Kuwait. He also runs a website called thepaperclip.cc - which showcases riders across the Middle East - trying to change perceptions about cyclists.
He also recently featured in cyclingweekly - Poor infrastructure, police harassment, a die-hard bike community - what it’s like to be a cyclist in the Middle East | Cycling Weekly a great article where he goes into more detail about life as a cyclist in Kuwait!
UAE Tour, Opening weekend, retirements, so much racing, so much to talk about. Rob breaks it down with news from all things World Tour!
Salaam & Peace!
Thanks again for tuning in, we have Sajjad on, from West London. He was born with Club foot - I'll let him explain what that is!
Despite his disability, he has taken up the sport and thrives! Sajjad has even started competing locally, against able-bodied cyclists, and that to me is absolutely incredible. He doesn't ride with cleats just yet, he can't! So rocks up to Time trials with his basketball shoes on and his baggy shorts of course. What a boss! I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more from him in the future!
If you are a para-athlete, or looking to get into the sport, now would be an awesome time to look into the Limitless project by British Cycling, making the sport accessible to disabled riders across the country!
What was meant to be a deep dive into bike tires, quickly became a discussion on recent bike tech news. We did get into tires, but there is so much more to cover. I am sure there will be a part two at some point. Still, some real gems in this one, we hope you enjoy it!
That's right, Rob is back to share his thoughts and insights into the World Tour transfers, the winners and losers going into the 2023 season.
We'll be hearing allot more from him as the season picks up late February!
We welcome our 5th member to our team, Zainab, who has a wealth of knowledge in all things cycling.
In today's episode, Tariq dives into nutrition, and we go over tips & tricks related to fuelling on the bike.
Since the pandemic, British Cycling and other organisations, like Cycling Time trials and clubs up and down the country have seen a sharp decline in activity take-ups. I know one man who is really trying hard to reverse this, and that's Bruce. Bruce is the Eastern Regional Manager for British Cycling. Basically, think East London up to the east coast. Of course, it takes in where I am, and so I get to work with bruce from time to time. and I knew I had to get him on the pod to kick things off with all things BC! It was a little rushed, he's a busy man and it was in between his work meetings, but was great nonetheless.
This podcast was recorded several months back, I just haven't gotten round to editing it! The eastern region has just released their annual report, which would have been great to dive into with Bruce (https://i.emlfiles4.com/cmpdoc/2/1/0/7/9/1/files/97617_eastern-regional-delivery-plan---2022-2025.pdf?utm_campaign=2426120_Member%20News%20%7C%2017%2F11%2F22&utm_medium=email&utm_source=British%20Cycling%20V2&dm_i=480K,1G008,Y8R10,6OZSL,1)
A quick glance shows that events and take up have tanked hugely since the pandemic. However, it's promising to see that youth engagement has remained pretty much the same. There are some real takeaways on how Bruce and BC look to push cycling here in the eastern region.
On this pod, Bruce shares what he does and how he does it and he is a real supporter of the community and likes to uplift the volunteers who give so much for the sport. He was even at the recent The Muslim Cyclist event at Rapha in conjunction with Evolve Cycling Club. He is also part of the reason I'm on the BC scholarship program, that's another way how BC supports our community and others too! You will hear more about Bruce in future episodes I'm sure.
This is I hope the first in a long line of guests from or about British Cycling. To name a few I hope to get on at some point in the future is Izzy, who I work with at the City Academies, an absolutely amazing project. There's also Asma, who works with Izzy to get more kids in inner cities on bikes, and also a fellow scholar, as is Shahina, a member of Evolve. For those who don't know, Evolve is a women's and kids club, based out in West London that run some fantastic events and coaching with the help of BC. If I'm not mistaken, they created the first Muslim women's sportive & TT, giving the opportunity to many of our sisters to take part for the first time. Iffat is the real driver behind the program, so she's someone I hope we can speak to soon inshaAllah! I know a few other projects that BC are involved in, like their partnership with Foleshill Masjed up in Coventry, and I'm sure there are tons more. Over time, I'll try to unearth them all, and may they long grow inshaAllah.
Welcome to a new series of the podcast, welcoming Taj, Izzat & Tariq to the team. As part of this new series, we will be discussing all things tech in the cycling world with deep dives into specific topics also!
In today's show we go into... - The New Colnago V4Rs - Aerocoach Ornix 32cm handlebars - road bike trends going into 2023 - job cuts at Wahoo, Strava, cyclingtips/velonews (outdoor media) - spy shots on the new Super6 and SRAM AXS groupset
Over a decade ago, Rapha released the Festive 500 challenge. A challenge to complete 500km within 8 days, between Christmas eve and New Year's eve! Now a staple of every keen cyclists calendar, Taj has completed it a whopping 5 times! On today's podcast, he goes into the tips and tricks to get it completed, whether it's your first time or tenth!
In our latest series, Izzat gets under the hood of the latest Shimano Di2 release. For the first time, Shimano have now made the 'people's groupset', 105, electric. Meaning crispier shifting, coupled with more gears, 12 to be exact! Shimano now closes the gap to its closest rivals, SRAM.
Many in the northern hemisphere will often look outside and and decide to give riding a miss. In recent years, due to advancements in smart trainers and platforms like zwift are changing that. Our guests today have a host of experience on riding indoors with Altaf even being one of few Zwift Beta testers back in its inception!
We dive into the various trainer options, platforms and tips & tricks to help get you set-up! As they say right, winter miles equal summer smiles! Even if they are stationary indoors!
We all want to go faster right!? We all know those deep section aero wheels will sure help, but we can't always buy the latest and greatest! So pro mechanic Izzat goes into a handful of buys which won't break the bank, but will certainly add speed to your ride!
Salaam,
Super fortunate to have on today Izzat Roslan, a mechanic out in KL Malaysia. We were lucky to catch him as he toured the UK working on a project. He is often working with the latest and greatest on a daily, so what better person to have on to discuss all things bike tech and the day job living the life!
Salaam!
Another great segment from our resident mechanic, Izzat Roslan out in Malaysia. He has a lot to say on the subject - Keep it clean!
Salaam! Quite the episode today! A combination of two, both with Hashim, a Somalian brother living out in Leicester who is always on an adventure, and a South African, Calvin, who rode home once... from the UK!
So much happened since we were last on, including a new hour record holder, the first gravel worlds, and of course, the final monument of the season, Il Lombardia!
We breakdown the worlds before looking forward to the final monument of the season; Lombardia.
Salaam!
Today we have on two incredible athletes in Sannah & Irfan. You will often find them on the start line of some of the bigger races here in the UK, and at just 18 & 21 respectively, they're only just getting started!
Rob & I dive into the world of racing of late, talking of future talent of today and looking forward to the Worlds in Australia!
Last week saw the wrap up of the Tour, with Jonas Vingegaard taking away the Yellow Jersey. Rob & I brake it down & look to what is upcoming!
Salaam! We have on today Usman Omar, natural-born adventurer!
Originally learning his trade out in Pakistan, before becoming the ultra addict here in the UK. You will often find him traveling the length of the country on his bike, or at the start of an Ultra distance bike race, or even on a multi-day hike. He is becoming quite the veteran in the scene, having taken part in a ton of ultra races, including Silk Road Mountain Race, and very recently, All Points North like myself. Let's get into it!!
Lot has happened before the second rest day, setting us up nicely for the final week before heading into Paris!
Sorry for the delay in podcasts - I've just been enjoying riding my bike really. And, well, sometimes that's the most important thing, right? If you're not enjoying riding so much, you don't enjoy talking about it either!
So here we are, refocused and we have on today Tariq Razzaque, from the north. Technically anything above the M25 is the north for us Londoners, so specifically, he is from Bolton! He is an inspiring individual, who went about creating his own events team, before then going on to combine it with his love of cycling. His company MCevents put on some unique cycling events, in the sense that despite being Muslim lead, they still attract a very diverse crowd, Muslim & non. He goes into how to go about doing this before talking about his approach to the Pennine Rally, which unfortunately came to an abrupt end.
Over to you Tariq!
Rob & I dig our teeth into the final stages of the Giro, before discussing Unbound Gravel and the alternative calendar!
Salaam! We welcome on Farooq today to talk all things audax here in the UK. He goes into the journey into the scene, and now standing at the top, completing some of the biggest audax' the UK scene has to offer!
We also introduce our latest addition to the Gapped team, Izzat Roslan from Malaysia. He has a lot to offer and we are very glad he can join the team!
Thanks to the Ride London event going through East London and into Essex, an area populated by hundreds, if not thousands of Muslim riders, it is no surprise that hundreds have signed up this year! This year, the event will be perhaps be the most popular to date for us Muslim Cyclists here in the UK. The organisers of the event itself have gone out their way to offer discounted tickets to local clubs to increase diversity within Ride London.
For many, it will be their first time doing Ride London, for others, it'll be the first time doing a sportive even, and a century too! So with only a handful of days away, there is nobody better to have on than Sheraz, a regular at the event, posting perhaps the current fastest time set by a Muslim, at a whopping 4 hours and 10mins. He too was a novice to the event back in 2013, so he shares his insights and tips for what will be a fantastic event inshaAllah!
Today we had Ellen on, a volunteer at The Big Ride for Palestine. Having an Irish background, and having personally spent months in Palestine, she saw firsthand the atrocities committed by the state of Israel.
Her passion and activism for the cause of Palestine is unparalleled, which led her to help run BR4P.
The ride itself is an annual event, this time taking riders from Derby to Manchester, culminating in a festival there, promoting Palestine.
The aims of the organization is to bring attention to the human rights abuses endured by the Palestinian people, the brutal military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), and Israel’s continued violation of international law.
https://youtu.be/ylZROE3k5_0
https://www.thebigride4palestine.com/
Now in its second year, The Fasted 500 challenge remains the sole universal challenge, enjoyed worldwide! Started by Zahir Nayani, with the idea of creating a safe space for all Muslims across the practicing spectrum. Despite being a little isolated in Swindon, with the wholesome challenge, he has managed to create a community around The Fasted 500. If you haven't already, I suggest going back and listening to Episode 6 of the podcast, where he explains the inspiration behind it all.
The idea for this podcast was meant to be a quick 10-15minute catch-up, getting an update from Zahir on how the Fasted 500 went on this year. Not only did we get that, but we also got an insightful conversation with the social media connoisseur on what he thinks the next few years hold for the Muslim community across the socials. As always, super insightful & well worth the listen!
TFL were faced with the impossible task of rushing through various changes in the capital during Covid-19, making is possible for the public to socially distance. As we phase out of such times, TFL are returning to consulting the public with changes to various infrastructure across the capital.
Andrew Miles has come on to speak of the importance of responding to such consultations. Not only do we need to speak up when we're against a proposal, but also need our voices heard when we are in agreement, especially when changes can have a huge effect on us, be it safety or journey times. I'm glad Andrew came on, he has a ton of experience and knowledge of how it all works, and goes about dispelling various misconceptions with the whole process. A real eye opener! The whole process takes no more than 10 minutes, and allows us to shape the city we live in!
You can find out more on Have Your Say Transport for London (tfl.gov.uk)
Did Evanepoel save quickstep's classic season!? Rob & I dive into this weeks racing! A lot to pack in!
Dylan van Baarle rode into the history books on Sunday when he won the fastest edition of Paris-Roubaix by completing the 257.2-kilometre cobbled classic at an average speed of 45.8km/h.
It was the nature of Van Baarle’s win, though, that impressed more than the speed of the flying Dutchman who secured the biggest one-day race in British team Ineos Grenadiers’s history.
Me & Rob go into it all!
Like Sarah before, and Rashid bhai who was on during Episode 1, Shams has helped create a club that has been the reason for literally hundreds of Muslims getting into cycling. They offer a host of rides throughout the year, both nationally and internationally, training people up from novice to expert within a matter of months.
Their flagship offering is the 3 cities, whereby they travel from London to Istanbul each year, 3 cities at a time, starting again where they left off. I was fortunate enough to join them during their second trip, riding from Brussels to Luxembourg, taking a detour to Cologne and the largest Masjid in Europe. That was more than 6 years ago, and it's incredible how the face of Muslim cycling has changed in such a short period of time. It was refreshing to sit back and reflect on it all with Shams.
H&K has since gone from strength to strength, expanding their offering, including their most recent ride, Makkah to Medinah, mimicking the Hijra taken by our Prophet Muhammad SAW. Shams goes deep into his journey, and so shall we!
Inspiring and enabling Muslim women to cycle - That's their moto, and they're not wrong!
Cycle Sisters started in 2016 when they set up their first Muslim women’s community cycle group in Waltham Forest in East London - since then their work has been recognised as being ground-breaking and hugely successful in supporting large numbers of Muslim women to cycle.
Cycle Sisters was started by Sarah Javaid who saw the need for Muslim women’s cycle groups that offer supportive, inclusive, sociable rides. Their first group started with just Sarah, her friend and her two sisters in law and in just a few years, they have grown to have multiple groups and hundreds of women on their rides!
They work to address the inequalities in cycling by ensuring that the needs of Muslim women are understood and met. Levels of cycling in the UK are low with the majority of journeys being undertaken by men. Women - and particularly those from minority backgrounds - experience many barriers to cycling and are less likely to see cycling as an option for themselves and their families.
Cycle Sisters provide support and role models while our partnership work with local and national cycling organisations helps to tackle stereotypes and make cycling more inclusive and diverse. Their longer-term goal is to grow into a nation wide network of Muslim women cyclists, ensuring that Muslim women cyclists have a voice on a national level.
Ramadhaan Mubarak to you all!
This is a fab episode where we hear from several in the community with regards to riding in Ramadhaan. One thing is mentioned over and over, take it easy and ride within yourself. There is no prize for killing yourself during this month, but do get out & enjoy it!
Rhianna has already been on an impressive journey. Her recent achievements become even more astounding when you consider that she had only been in the sport for a year when she placed 4th in the 500m individual time trial and 5th in the sprint at the National Youth and Junior Track Cycling Championships in 2019, her first national level competition.
Off he bike Rhianna is studying Sports Coaching at the University of Derby, a course and university that not only allows her to pursue her cycling ambitions but develop her knowledge and passion for sport as a whole.
Rhianna is part of the KC Academy, here she goes into it all!
The KC Academy was born in 2021 out of the lived experience of Kadeena Cox. As an athlete Kadeena developed her athletic prowess in track & field before transitioning into cycling, where the comparable lack of diversity at the elite end of the sport was undeniable. As the only Black British cyclist to ever win a gold medal at the Olympic or Paralympic Games and as the only one, at the time of founding the KC Academy, on podium level funding for track or road cycling from the UK Sport, it was clear to Kadeena that more needed to be done.
Kadeena was assured by her own success in the sport that the lack of diversity was not due to a lack of talent or ability but by a lack of inspiration, opportunity and support. The KC Academy has set about delivering solutions for all 3 of those barriers by providing inspiring content and oppurtunities for current and future riders looking to enter and progress in the sport and by offering vital funding, mentoring and support to highly talented individuals looking to develop along the sports pathway.
The KC Academy is building into its second year and is always happy to hear from athletes, individuals and brands looking to get involved with the program. If you are an athlete looking to join the team there are some exciting oppurtunities ahead.
It was incredible to get Sumayyah on the pod! A true pioneer of the sport, racing World Cups across Europe, with little support other than her family. Sumayyah goes into detail about her upbringing and how that allowed her to reach such a high level in the sport, including some of the sacrifices her family had to take for her to get to where she is.
Unfortunately, Sumayyah has taken a little break for now, but we truly hope she gets back into it very soon! It all looks very gnarly!
Super chuffed to have on a professional cyclist, Henrietta, talking all things racing. She goes into her pathway here in the UK, working her way up through British Cycling, before then making the switch to Europe at the tender age of 18. She talks about the challenges and the resilience it takes to make it. Super insightful and well worth the listen!
Ever thought about doing a degree in sports science, or even gaining a PhD in cycling!? Well we have someone on doing just that. Rob is a PhD student at Loughborough university, researching intermittent exercise in cyclists. Although he won’t admit it, he is at the cutting edge of research currently in the world of exercise physiology.
We break up this episode in to two parts. First Rob talks about his research and the pathway into studying physiology to a high level.
You can imagine Rob is a very smart guy, which leads us to the second part of the episode. Professional cycling is full of jargon and technicalities, so I thought there is no one better than Rob to explain it all! So sit back, and enjoy as Rob does a super deep dive into all things cycling!
Every top athlete in the world, cycling or non has a coach. Increasingly, amateurs are turning to coaches to become the best version of themselves. Coaches can offer objectivity and accountability to oneself and their goals. Today we have Henry from 2020cycling, a qualified coach to talk about the need for a coach and what they can offer. Henry has raced at a high level here in the UK and in Europe and has deep knowledge into all things cycling. Henry is brutally honest throughout and even gives his thoughts into why he thinks there aren't enough coloured people racing, be sure to catch that towards the end.
With Ramadaan just around the corner, it's no better time to introduce you all to Zahir, founder of the Fasted 500 cycling challenge! A cycling challenge based in the month of Ramadaan, to encourage Muslims to keep fit & active during the month. In its inception last year, over a hundred people took part from all over the world, this year I imagine far more of you will take part! Let's hear all about it from Zahir himself!
The CAGE Unity Bike Ride is an opportunity for the various Muslim Cycling clubs to come together and work towards a common cause, which is to support the work of CAGE.
CAGE is an advocacy group, which challenges the government and its policies when it comes to bills that are in conflict with the Muslim community. Azad bhai goes into some of the projects CAGE is working on, including the big one currently - The Nationality and Borders bill.
Salaam! I was fortunate to sit down and talk with Safiya Al Sayegh here in the UAE. She is the current UAE National Road and Timetrial champion. She also races professionally with the World Tour Team UAE Team ADQ with the likes of Marta Bastianelli, former world champ. She initially rejected the opportunity to become a professional, wanting to focus on her graphic design degree, but with persistency from the team, she agreed.
Not only is she the first Emirati woman, but she is also the first in the pro peloton to wear a scarf while racing. She gave a comment about feeling 'alien' while doing so, but does not let it phase her. She is striving to get more women and Muslims in the sport, giving them something to aspire to.
Riding to Hajj remains the pinnacle of any Muslim Cyclists career, we speak to some of the first to ever do it from London, Abdul Wahid.
He touches upon the challenges, the elations & the intentions of the ride.
He also touches on Al Imaan CC, and their calendar of events for 2022. Check them out on - https://alimaan.cc/
I was very fortunate to join the Riders of Shaam on their journey to Luxembourg back in 2017. That trip remains one of my most memorable for a number of reasons, most notably the brotherhood amongst the participents. Here we sit down with Wazir & Amin, to talk about their journey and challenges, making it all happen!
Hello & Welcome to the Gapped podcast, where we hear from the movers and shakers from the Muslim Cycling Community. There is no better place to start than with Rashid Ali from Team MC. Here he goes into depth about his upcoming Bangladesh Tour. He also reveals more about the Team MC calendar, be sure to check it out on - https://muslimcharity.org.uk/teammc