From the latest product news to details of routes and events, our news round-up is a collection of short snippets of information in one handy article.

Today we bring you a preview of Victoria Pendleton's new range of women's bikes, word on the arrival of Pacific Cycles in the UK, new bikes from Grupetto Italia, Dan Lloyd's new team and more.

Product news

Victoria Pendleton & Halfords team up for women's cycle range

Not content with teaming up with one Olympian in Chris Boardman, UK retailer Halfords are working with Victoria Pendleton to sell her new line of women's bikes. The three-strong range is designed for those who want to make cycling part of their daily lives, whether that’s for pleasure, town or city riding. The bikes, Somerby (£299.99), Brooke (£299.99) and Dalby (£349.99) will be available in 16” or 18” frame sizes, and will go on sale from 22 March.

Pendleton on location this week (courtesy of Halfords' Twitter page)

Cycle Surgery expands operations

Cycle Surgery has announced it will open a new store in Wandsworth, London this March. The 2,500 sq ft shop, open seven days a week, will stock bikes from Trek, Giant, Brompton and Ridgeback, equipment from Endura, Giro and Mavic, as well as a workshop with Cytech qualified mechanics.

Pacific Cycles reach UK shores

Pacific Cycles are opening a new European office in London, bringing their full size folding bikes to the UK for the first time through retailers Firebox and Fudges Cycle Store. One of the highlights of their range is the aluminium, 26" wheeled iF Mode city bike (£1,699), aimed at commuters who want the convenience of a folding bike but who have been previously put off by small wheels. It also folds in a way that allows you to drag it along on its wheels rather than having to carry it.

Three new Grupetto Italia bikes for 2012

Mottarone SL

Grupetto Italia have unveiled three new bikes for 2012; two carbon models in the Mottarone SL (from £2,500) and the Mergozzo CL (from £1,550), and the steel CS Maggiore (from £1,350). The bikes are available to view at their showroom in Amersham, Buckinghamshire and via their website, and offer a free fitting service with all purchases.

Routes, racing & rides

Dan Lloyd signs for Team IG-Sigma Sport

British pro Daniel Lloyd has been signed by UK based Team IG-Sigma Sport. Lloyd, who rode for Garmin-Cervelo last year, was contemplating retirement after he wasn't retained by the powerhouse American squad. But he was persuaded to keep racing on the UK domestic circuit by his friend Ian Whittingham at Sigma Sport.

The team is hoping for a top 10 finish at the Tour of Britain, as well as wins at the Tour Series criteriums and Premier Calendar events this year.

Cheshire Classic future boosted

The Cheshire Classic Women’s Road Race, the opener to the British Cycling National Series, has brought Epic Cycles on board as a new sponsor. The 77km race, won last year by Junior World Champion Lucy Garner, is set for 22 April in Northwich, Cheshire and thanks to the sponsorship, it will now have access to full support from National Escort Group motorcycle marshals and a biking paramedic.  It comes as a welcome boost for the sport after recent reports from riders and promoters apparently struggling to find backing for their events.

CTC expands sportive calendar

CTC, the UK's national cyclists' organisation has added two more dates to their sportive calendar for 2012 - the Swindon Cycle Champions ride on 19 February and the North West Challenge, Manchester on March 18. Entry to the Swindon event is on a buy one get one free basis, so it'll cost £15 for you and a friend. Both are on top of returning rides from 2011, including Dorset's Ride to the Pies (25/26 February) and Sheffield's Phil Liggett on 19 August. Visit the website for entry information.

London will host a two-day cycling festival from August 2013 as part of the Olympic legacy, Mayor of London Boris Johnson has said.

The first day is aimed at cyclists of all ages and abilities and it’s hoped up to 70,000 people will cycle an eight mile traffic-free loop around the city. The second day, starting in the Olympic Park, will see up to 35,000 amateur, club and world-class cyclists tackle a 100-mile route largely based on the Olympic road race. It will be the first large scale event to make use of the park when it re-opens next summer.

Mr Johnson announced the plans in a speech to business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos today. The ambition is to make it one of the world’s leading cycling events and the participant numbers proposed for the sportive would put it on the path to towards that.

"This spectacular event will help ensure that the 2012 Games are just the start, not the end of the benefits of hosting the Olympics,” said Mr Johnson. “We are already creating long lasting opportunities for the Park and the capital, which will showcase London to the world, attract more visitors, create more jobs and support the economy."

The mayor’s office said it hopes the festival will provide a long-term source of income for improving cycling infrastructure in London, bringing in tens of millions of pounds through participation, spectating and worldwide television audiences, with over 200,000 people coming from outside the city. Supporters of the festival include British Cycling and reigning world champion Mark Cavendish.

“British Cycling has been involved in this exciting project right from the beginning,” said Brian Cookson, President of British Cycling. “It fits in really well with the range of our activities, from leisure cycling right through to elite level competition. The time is right for this event, with burgeoning ‘sportive’ participation levels demonstrating the mass appeal of our sport. This event will celebrate the new place of cycling in British culture, right in the heart of the capital."

Plans for the festival resemble the "London Marathon on Wheels" first mooted in April of last year. That event proposed 30,000 elite and amateur cyclists tackling several different routes including the Olympic road race route and like the marathon, it would have been televised and on closed roads.

Updated: London & Partners, the firm who will work with the chosen delivery partner to deliver the festival, have confirmed that the 100-mile sportive will be held on traffic-free roads.

We can thank Justin Halpern and his Shit My Dad Says for the ‘Shit They Say’ phenomena, which gained momentum with the late 2011 YouTube video series Shit Girls Say and has since snowballed into our world of two-wheels and adventure sports.

We can thank NSMB.com for Shit Mountain Bikers Say. Whistler Blackcomb brought us Shit Skiers Say, and Specialized-Lululemon team co-sponsor, Lululemon, brought us Shit Yogis Say, and we even had our own Twitter thread on #shitroadiessay. Which bring us to the Bikes Belong People for Bikes initiative and their sponsorship of Shit Cyclists Say. This was conceptualized, filmed and produced by Hardcastle Photography, a one man photo and video outlet owned by elite cyclo-crosser, Allen Krughoff.

Krughoff pitched Bikes Belong, who own the People for Bikes campaign, to sponsor his Shit Cyclists Say concept while working a commercial still shoot for the non-profit. Within 48 hours they agreed upon a contract. Shooting started on Friday, with Krughoff behind the camera and his Boulder, CO cyclo-cross teammates and training partners, doing everything from staring in the video to driving the ‘camera’ car. Local reality show star and People for Bikes supporter, Ryan Van Duzer (as seen on Discovery Channel’s Out of The Wild: Venezuela) played the cyclist.

Shit Cyclists Say

Shit Cyclists Say dropped on YouTube on Sunday morning 22 January, and at time of publication racked up over 350,000 views, all in the name of Bikes Belong People for Bikes pledge campaign.

Little left for cyclists to do but laugh at Krughoff’s work and sign the People for Bikes pledge. And we're interested to know, just how many of these have you said during your cycling career? (More than a few in our case!)

A huge spectator increase for one of the best vantage points of the 2012 Olympic road race has been given the green light.

A maximum of 15,000 people will now be able to watch the race on the Zig Zag Road incline and Donkey Green area of Box Hill, up from the previous limit of 3,500. The lessons learned from last August's Olympic test event, combined with five months of investigations by the Olympic organising committee LOCOG, land owners National Trust and wildlife advisors Natural England, have brought about the change.

A final capacity will be confirmed once a health and safety report has been carried out. It will be achieved by stripping away the scrub on the sides of the Zig Zag Road, which will be closed from 30 January for a week while the work is carried out. The National Trust will also resurface the stretch in April.

The decision to limit the numbers on particular sections of the hill, allied to the fact spectators would have to pay to get access to them, caused considerable consternation in the cycling community last year. Though the capacity has dramatically increased, those wanting to watch the race from these two areas will still have to buy tickets, explained by LOCOG as being “in line with London 2012 aims to provide fair access and safety at venues”. Other parts of Box Hill will be free to view, as will the rest of the route.

British Cycling’s President Brian Cookson said: "Following the test event, both myself and UCI President Pat McQuaid made our views about the unsatisfactory arrangements on Box Hill clear to LOCOG.  Both before and since that time, there has been considerable input from the technical representatives of both bodies into the planning process, and I am pleased that this, together with the public and media pressure, has now resulted in a much more satisfactory situation for cycling fans than had originally been the case."

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