Tour Down Under sticky bottle controversy blows up… but fans joke: “If that’s the most egregious cheating in pro cycling you’ve seen, the sport’s in a great place”; Telegraph in meltdown over “Stalinist” 15-minute cities + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Basically you're getting wound up over corner shops": Telegraph ridiculed for "Stalinist" 15-minute cities story, as readers accuse newspaper of "going full conspiracy theory"
Labour has opened the door to a shocking, disturbing “Stalinist” policy that could be coming to your area soon, according to the characteristically measured and cool-headed writers over at the Telegraph. Collective farms? Purges? The NKVD? What on earth could this Stalinist policy, that we should all be so scared of, possibly be? Oh… it turns out it’s just the idea that all your amenities — shops, schools, doctors, leisure facilities, services etc. — could be within a 15-minute journey from your front door… absolutely dystopian, I tell you…
Yep, that’s Stalinist, apparently.
We’ve been here before, of course, although perhaps not quite to this level of ridiculousness. The concept of 15-minute cities has become a regular target for attacks from certain corners of the internet and conspiracy-minded critics.
It’s not just in online forums and Facebook comments sections, however, papers obtained for a legal challenge back in 2024 revealing that a “crackpot conspiracy theory” that misrepresented the urban planning concept of the 15-minute city had led to the then-Conservative government slashing funding for active travel.
In reality, the 15-minute city concept, devised by Sorbonne academic Carlos Moreno, puts forward the idea that all essential services – schools, shops, medical facilities and the like – be no more than a 15-minute walk, wheel or cycle from where people live.
> Why is the 15-minute city attracting so many conspiracy theories?
However, critics have often claimed the planning concept would see motorists restricted in where, and how often, they can drive, the rants online and in certain sections of the press following the script of similar opposition to low-traffic neighbourhoods and other active travel schemes.
In 2023, a GB News presenter claimed 15-minute cities and LTNs are “un-British” and “illiberal”, while a Conservative MP was criticised after citing a known conspiracy theory in Parliament when calling 15-minute cities an “international socialist concept”.
So, it is to all that context that the Telegraph joined the party and published a story suggesting 15-minute cities are “Stalinist”. The comments on Facebook suggest even the Telegraph’s own readers are a bit baffled by this one, the article being widely mocked…
Matt Dean: “Please explain to me what is Stalinist about amenities being walking-distance away, which is all a 15-minute city is. Go on, I’m waiting.”
Mark Voller: “As historians know, Stalin was relentless in his quest to reduce the walk to the shops.”
Graeme Southwood: “Delete the words ‘Stalinist’ and ’15-minute cities’ and ask people if they’d like most of the services, facilities and shops they regularly use to be easily accessible — a very different spin.”
Helen Carr: “Does this mean the return of local shops, schools, hospitals, leisure centres, sports facilities etc? Is that bad?”
John Soady: “Basically you’re getting wound up over corner shops.”
Matt Jackson: “The Telegraph has now gone full conspiracy theory. Most British cities I’ve lived in were already 15-minute cities and have been since they were built. It’s generally a sign of a nice desirable area.”
Rachel Burgin: “I live in a 15-minute city. It’s the Saxon settlement of Biggleswade, population 23,000. Has a train station to London and all the town’s facilities are within a 15-minute walk from me. It’s not Stalinist: it’s quintessentially British!”
Andrew Pate: “Hmm. Didn’t we call them villages?”
Olivier Sykes: “Is the Daily Telegraph actively pushing satire now?”
Mark McCue: “The tin foil is strong in this one.”
Kian Montana: “Telegraph writer are you okay? Blink rapidly and mention Mao if you are in trouble, we will send the police.”
That was actually quite a fun Facebook comments section for once…
Kangaroo crash doesn't deny Jay Vine Tour Down Under victory, as Brit Matthew Brennan sprints to final stage
Only in the Tour Down Under: Race leader Jay Vine and a few other of the world’s best cyclists have been taken down by a kangaroo after it hopped into the peloton. pic.twitter.com/IbwAdtclhg
— 7NEWS Adelaide (@7NewsAdelaide) January 25, 2026
The Tour Down Under scenes above went around the world yesterday, major news outlets taking an interest in the season-opening action due to a very on-brand Aussie crash. Jhonatan Narváez had crashed the day before and suffered fractures to several thoracic vertebrae, so UAE Team Emirates were all-in for Vine. Thankfully, the kangaroo crash didn’t cause Vine too much trouble, although concerningly the animal appeared in some distress as it left the road again.
Numerous riders were injured too, Visma-Lease a Bike’s Menno Huising abandoning, the Dutchman pictured clutching his collarbone and with some nasty tears across his jersey. Matthew Brennan gave the team something to smile about at the end of the stage, sprinting to the victory to open his 2026 account. In the end, kangaroo scare aside, Vine’s GC success was comfortable. Jayco AlUla’s Mauro Schmid and Harry Sweeny rounded off the podium.
Another weekend, another Mathieu van der Poel clean sweep — but concerns for Joran Wyseure after rider hospitalised by heavy start-line crash
? Most UCI World Cup Victories Men:
?? Mathieu van der Poel – 51
?? Sven Nys – 50
?? Van Aert – 17
?? Iserbyt – 17
?? Groenendaal – 13
?? Albert – 11
?? Pauwels – 11
?? Van der Haar – 9
?? Pontoni, ?? Wellens, ?? Stybar, ?? Vanthourenhout – 7#CXWorldCuppic.twitter.com/8fl4Lqyig2— Cyclocross24.com (@cyclocross24) January 25, 2026
Ahead of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships this coming weekend, Mathieu van der Poel once again flexed his muscles as the discipline’s undisputed top dog. Remarkably Alpecin-Premier Tech (almost wrote Deceuninck there…) pulled off a 1-2-3 on Saturday and Sunday at both of the World Cup rounds in Maasmechelen and Hoogerheide.
On both days it was Tibor Del Grosso second and Niels Vandeputte third, but heading into the big one this weekend, you’d have to be an extremely bold punter to predict anyone other than Van der Poel pulling on the rainbow bands in Hulst. It’s now 23 ‘cross wins in a row and Sunday was his 51st World Cup victory. Dominant.
Unfortunately, the Maasmechelen action was marred by a heavy crash in the opening seconds of the race, Joran Wyseure the worst injured and taken to hospital. Wyseure was treated on the course for the opening quarter of the race and once safe to do so stretchered away for further treatment.
Puck Pieterse set the bar for Van der Poel, the Dutch rider also winning both World Cup rounds this weekend. Concerningly for Lucinda Brand, the rider whose ‘cross season roll off 13 wins in a row from November to December, her 63-race podium streak ended in Maasmechelen, just a week before the big day.
Brand has insisted there is no need to panic, but could the balance of power be shifting just in time for the World Championships?
"Alex Pretti was one of us": Bikepacking website pays tribute to man shot dead by ICE agents in Minneapolis
A piece uploaded to Bikepacking.com shared a tribute to Alex Pretti, the nurse shot dead in Minneapolis by ICE on Saturday, the second US citizen killed by federal agents in the city in less than a month.
The bikepacking site revealed Pretti was a reader of their website and a passionate mountain biker.
The tribute stated: “Alex Pretti was, by all accounts, the type of person we should all aspire to be more like. The 37-year-old worked tirelessly as a nurse in the intensive care unit at the VA hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, caring for our sickest veterans. In his free time, he loved walking his dog, spending time in the outdoors, and riding and racing bikes. Alex was a reader of this site, a longtime member of the Bikepacking Collective, and part of our community. He was kind, compassionate, and a good friend and neighbour to many.”
Former Wales internationals to cycle 300 miles from Cardiff to Paris for charity
A trio of former Welsh international rugby players are raising money for charity ahead of a 300-mile ride from Cardiff to Paris in April. Alex Cuthbert, Josh Navidi and Ellis Jenkins have 104 caps between them and are switching their post-retirement sporting endeavours to life on two wheels, in support of volunteer medical charity MEDSERVE Wales.
The former rugby players plan to cover the 300 miles between April 15 and 18, the ride starting from Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and finishing at the Eiffel Tower.
“I can ride a bike and I can dig in,” former Wales captain Jenkins told WalesOnline. “As long as it’s not too uphill! MEDSERVE and the essential services they provide made participating an easy decision. It’s about more than just cycling; it’s about supporting those who are there when lives are on the line, I hope our fans will donate to this amazing cause.”
"How will we be able to take the coffin out?" Vicar slams "underhanded" cycle lane plans that could 'block access' to church for hearses
Stalinist city planning and a coffin-threatening cycle lane , it’s been some day for cycling so far…
Sir Chris Hoy back on the bike 12 weeks after breaking leg in mountain bike crash
Sir Chris Hoy was back out on the bike this weekend after three months of extensive rehab from emergency surgery to treat injuries sustained in a “nasty” moutain bike crash. Hoy has called the crash the worst of his life, a big statement considering his career’s worth of hurtling around a velodrome at mind-boggling speeds.
Uploading a video of the rehab process to Instagram, the six-time Olympic champion, who revealed in 2024 that he has been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, explained that his crash and recovery to be back on the bike this weekend had taught him “all you can do is control what you can”.
Saving special shout-outs to his physiotherapist and sports therapist, Katie and Vicki, Hoy wrote: “It’s been a while! 12 weeks ago today I was having emergency surgery following a nasty crash on the mountain bike. It’s been a rough ride since then. I had no idea how tough other people must have had it, with similar injuries to this.
“But with daily hard work, and expert physiotherapy guiding me through the rehab, along with world class soft tissue treatment, I was able to get back out on the bike for the first time yesterday, in the fresh air. Recovery continues but this has taught me many things, not least that you can’t second guess what might happen in life, and all you can do is control what you can.”
British Cycling CEO Jon Dutton to step down in summer to take Olympic role
> British Cycling CEO Jon Dutton to step down in summer to take Olympic role
Major station's bike racks saved... after rail operator Southern planned to remove them over fears a car bomb could target railway
You may remember last summer when rail operator Southern announced a bike parking facility at East Croydon station was to be removed, the excuse given that there were fears the area could be used to car bomb the railway.
Well, mercifully those plans were put on hold and now Inside Croydon has revealed that Southern is to instead build a secure fence around the bike parking, the racks going nowhere.
Chris Galpin, who set up a petition and spearheaded the campaign to stand up to Southern, told the local news website: “I am glad Southern Rail have seen sense and committed to maintain an area where bikes can be securely parked on the east side of the station. For now we can celebrate this victory, which shows what can be achieved when the people of Croydon make their voices heard.”
The racks were previously in a staff car park, Southern now planning to separate the two areas with more fencing. “Once complete, this will enable the staff car park to be made secure while retaining access to the racks,” a spokesperson said.
"Over-reaction based on vibes": Are mandatory helmet and hi-vis laws for cyclists set to be introduced in Ireland?
Tour Down Under sticky bottle controversy blows up... but fans joke: "If that's the most egregious cheating in pro cycling you've seen, the sport's in a great place"
It’s great to have road racing back, isn’t it? Viral crash footage caused by wildlife and viral social media arguments about whether a professional athlete was gaining an advantage by holding onto a water bottle for too long, we’re so back…
In fairness, this would have been a better look for Luke Plapp if he had actually taken the bottle, rather than just clinging on for a tow before letting go. One added twist to this is it appears to be neutral service, rather than his team car. Perhaps the driver waited until the 11th hour to tell the Australian that they didn’t have any carb mix in the bottles today, so Plapp thought he’s not having that?
The sticky bottle, otherwise, was actually fairly standard marginal assistance fare… but come on, Luke, you’ve got to remember to take the bottle! Ultimately, this didn’t come to much, Plapp’s breakaway attempt ending with a 114th-place finish on stage five, although teammate Mauro Schmid did secure his podium spot behind a kangaroo-bashed Jay Vine.
The footage of Plapp’s sticky bottle has gone quite big on Threads, even catching the eye of some non-cycling fans stunned to learn that pro cyclists can get a tow from a water break. For any newbies, basically… everyone does it, it’s fine to an extent… don’t hold on too long, don’t accelerate the car too fast… and, crucially… remember to take the bottle when it’s time to go. Oh, also don’t crash… the footage will go even more viral than any sticky bottle videos ever could.
The unimpressed fan who shared the video wrote: “So, you hang on to the bottle, get a good shunt up the hill and let go without the bottle. Cheating? How is this not receiving a tow from the car, should have been disqualified as this was the first one, he did it again later in the race.”
I’ve got to admit a couple of the comments did make me chuckle, especially the person who said they were just glad the people horrified by Plapp’s sticky bottle weren’t watching cycling in the 90s and 00s.
“If that’s the most egregious cheating in professional road cycling you’ve seen, then the sport’s in a great place,” someone else added.
What do we reckon? Thoughts in the comments as usual…
26 January 2026, 08:52
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Latest Comments
@mdavidford I can see how it confused you when I pointed to the reviewer at the bottom. but hey if you cant read an entire comment before getting all keyboard warrior blah, kind of like you usually do that not my fault. I should have guessed the first person to reply to a comment would be you, you cant help yourself.
@chrisonabike It never ceases to amaze me how drivers consider public land to be their private parking spaces.
Erm - it has - as per the item above: (Technically, a 'budget cap' and a 'team salary cap' aren't quite the same thing, but given how much of the costs are paying riders, it would have a similar effect.)
A lot of pro sports leagues have team salary caps. Curious that hasn't been mooted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salary_cap
Well your original comment did rather suggest that was your understanding. The bit 'critiquing' the pros and cons was sandwiched in the middle of railing against the makers. And the amount of ill-thought-out tripe that gets posted under some of these reviews, it wouldn't surprise me at all if someone thought the manufacturer provided the pros and cons.
JB may not bé Mr Nice but in this case he's 100% right. I thought when Lappartient was elected he knew sod all about pro cycling and his real ambitions were related to running thé Olympics.
@mdavidford Well duh, is a manufacturer going to put negative comments on their own products? did you really just try to explain that?
Surely Fred Wright's going to win a race in his career that isn't the national champs. He's been close so many times now.
Awful human slags off Machiavellian politician -shock horror.
The pros and cons come from the reviewer, not the manufacturer. And they do explain in the review why they think the lack of MIPS could be viewed as either/both a positive or a negative. Less so with the shape, but it's easy to see how that could be considered a good or a bad thing, depending on whether it suits your head shape. If anything, it's a deficiency of the review template - that it doesn't have a section for something like 'other considerations' that aren't pros or cons.
41 thoughts on “Tour Down Under sticky bottle controversy blows up… but fans joke: “If that’s the most egregious cheating in pro cycling you’ve seen, the sport’s in a great place”; Telegraph in meltdown over “Stalinist” 15-minute cities + more on the live blog”
Disgraceful behaviour by that
Disgraceful behaviour by that Kangaroos Against Climate Crisis protestor – throw the book at them, I say.
I wouldnt want this to go to
I wouldnt want this to go to court. I dont think they would get a faiir hearing.
Of course if it took out a
Of course if it took out a rider from a certain rebranded team it would be different ?
I do belive the blame rests
I do believe, in the kangaroo incident, the blame rests with the sport. It was they who quite clearly told to ‘tie them down.’
It’ll start with “everything
It’ll start with “everything you need within 15 minutes” you know, for convenience. And then it’ll become “no reason to leave this zone” And finally “You can’t leave without permission”.
Reiver2768 wrote:
No it won’t. Next.
You missed the bit off the
You missed the bit off the end where the machines plug us all in to the matrix to serve their needs.
Assume this is sarcasm.
Assume this is sarcasm.
You know that a lot of people on here grew up in 15 minutes cities some 50 years ago. Otherwise known as villages or small parished areas of towns.
The telegraph has not been a serious newspaper for a long time now.
The phrase is obviuously made
The phrase is obviuously made to sound dystopian and controlling. It was always aimed at the car driving masses as a means of telling them their freedoms were under threat. When in fact communities in manyt rural areas are struggling because this type of life is diminishing. High streets are gutted thanks to the double pronged attaack of internet shopping and out of town shopping arcades or retail parks.
I guess the narrative plays
I guess the narrative plays to the fact that many people no longer distinguish between the fundamental ideas of
me
my car
me and my car
I see more and more housing
I see more and more housing estates that are devoid of proper pavements or green spaces for kids to play. They are often lacking centralised amenities, schools, doctors surgeries etc. The whole estate is car centric and withou one youre pretty isolated. This is what councils allow to be built. Because of house build targets they will try and squeeze in more homes into a plot but there is no thought to actual community.
That reminds me of a post
That reminds me of a post made ages ago about someone’s Dad. He’d downsized and thought carefully about where to go. Chose a place with doctors and shops nearby. Gradually things changed and he ended up with a forced 20 minute drive to get to places he needs.
I feel sorry for my in laws in Stalinist Shepperton – high st with shops, small library, doctor, bus stops and a train station. It’s hell for them in their late 80s now they can’t drive !
The way it seems to go, at
The way it seems to go, at least around here, is that the council agrees developments that contain all those amenities, then once the building is already well under way the developer backslides on it all and insists it wouldn’t be viable for them unless they build expensive houses on that space instead, and there seems to be little the council can do to force them to stick to the original ‘commitments’.
mdavidford wrote:
It’s the same round here, not just with amenities but with actual buildings, it’s par for the course to start off saying a development will be 25% affordable/social housing and that gradually gets whittled down to somewhere between 5% and sod all over the course of construction. Not entirely sure why councils can’t just say if you want planning permission you’ve got to sign this contract which says you either stick to the agreement or you forfeit the land and everything you’ve already built on it.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Because the law doesn’t allow it. Granted, developers will always try it on but there are also good reasons why affordable housing gets squeezed, particularly in recent years when build costs have risen a lot and sale prices (especially for flats in London have fallen). Only today, the BBC report on a collapse in London housebuilding.
Yes, I know the law doesn’t
Yes, I know the law doesn’t allow it as it stands, I meant I don’t see why we couldn’t have a law allowing it. I’m afraid my sympathy for developers is scant, if their build costs rise or they can’t quite get the prices they were anticpating that’s an inherent risk of the business, it shouldn’t entitle them to renege on the promises given in order to obtain planning permission.
It’s not about sympathy – it
It’s not about sympathy – it’s whether anything gets built. Developers won’t build if they can’t recover their costs. London did relatively well in securing sub-market tenures through Section 106 agreements while the market was bouyant – but things have changed bigly. It’s not just about greedy private developers – housing associations’ development has plummeted too (e.g.
http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/starts-by-london-housing-associations-down-92-as-work-begins-on-just-150-homes-88727).
There’s a good case for a completely different way of delivering affordable housing – but that’s another argument.
I’m tempted to suggest to you
I’m tempted to suggest to you that Planning is just a little more complicated than you think it is.
GMBasix wrote:
A lot of this is governed by medium level accountancy rules, as each development site in a company’s portfolio is accounted for individually. A housing site incurs expenditure to prepare it, and doesn’t generate any income until the first units are built and sold.
So the pressure is always on for sales to make the income to cover the expenditure already incurred. If as it progresses the site incurs unexpected spend, delays, build costs run higher than projected, or if sales are disappointing this all leads to pressure on the (from a developer perspective) provision of whistles and bells (infra to you and me).
David9694 wrote:
See, for example, major price inflation following covid and the Ukraine invasion, fewer/less flush buyers due to mortgage rate increases, labour shortages due (in part) to Brexit, second staircase rules (particularly affecting London), less interest from private landlords, uncertainty about freehold/leasehold changes, etc.
You missed the bit about
You missed the bit about exorbitant business rates from councils that makes business failure more than a very real possibility.
Apart from:
Apart from:
Central government sets the £ charge per RV
The VoA sets the RV and deals with appeals.
The council collects nndr as an agent.
A number of businesses pay no nndr as they are under the threshold.
Surreyrider wrote:
Is it exorbitant business rates or unrealistic expectations from entrepreneurs, nobody likes paying tax but everybody expects governments and councils to provide services and that takes money. If they take more from businesses then they need less from individuals so individuals will have more to spend and can afford the increase prices that businesses need to charge. Its a zero sum game.
Smoggysteve wrote:
The original phrase (apparently coined by Carlos Moreno in 2016 but really not a new concept) was of course *not* intended to be dystopian – and not directly about cars at all:
Wikipedia currently has what appears to be a rather good, measured article on it (but our persistent revenant loon can see to that of course, as they have done on other articles there): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15-minute_city
You miss the bit where I said
You miss the bit where I said it was MADE TO SOUND dystopian. It is the language used by the press, in this case The Telegraph and their usual right wing agendas that make it so.
In fairness, I don’t think
In fairness, I don’t think chris missed it, so much as it was ambiguously phrased – ‘made to’ as in ‘originally devised to be’ vs ‘made to’ as in ‘represented as’.
Smoggysteve wrote:
I doubt either of those were the author’s intent.
The Telegraph will become
The Telegraph will become even less serious – it looks like it is going to be bought by The Daily Mail.
“Earth calling Reiver2768..
“Can you hear me Reiver2768? Can you hear me Reiver2768?…Reiver2768 continues to be unresponse I’m afraid Doctor. I’m turning the satire response unit off now…”
Reiver2768 wrote:
You think they believe they could get away with that when they haven’t dared put up fuel duty since 2011 because they are afraid of the backlash?
Is that sacasm or do you
Is that sacasm or do you really wear a tin foil hat?
Meanwhile in the not so fun
Meanwhile in the not so fun parts of FB there’s a “Twenty is not plenty” group from Wales saying “Once they’ve established 15 minute cities. They could fine you for opening your front door at the wrong time”
Anothe news site BTL is already full of dire warnings of the end of days – “and so it begins”, is one, “once cash has gome you’ll only be allowed a certain amount of miles of, a certain amount of food, etc” and “Omg this is ridiculous wtf be like North Korea no rights whatsoever”, and many many more.
I’m not sure what’s actually changing in summer 2026.
I look forward to the day
I look forward to the day when all vehicles are fitted with tech to analyse journey stats.
In built up areas/during rush hour, most drivers will be unable to maintain 20mph for a significant time.
So their argument that it isn’t enough is fruitless.
It might also help show them they are saving fuel and money by driving at or less than 20.
I enjoyed this from James May
I enjoyed this from James May
https://x.com/MrJamesMay/status/2015692482500341953
This reply to someone
This reply to someone complaining that cars weren’t designed to do 20 was a cracker.
Cars were built to do whatever speed the driver chooses, you thick cunt. Hence having 20 mph on your speed dial.
I deleted my twatter account
I deleted my twatter account so I would avoid the vile coments, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone replied to the original tw@t that he was a slow learner!
It appears all the DT wants
It appears all the DT wants within a 15 walk (or a short drive if their recent stance on reducing the drink drive limit is to be believed) is a pub!
I am all for keeping local pubs open, but also having local shops, local leisure facilities, local services etc. rather than have to drive to some soul-less out of town carpark to shop.
In other news well done
In other news well done everyone from the cycling community and others who went to Hammersmith Bridge on Saturday to campaign to keep the bridge closed for cars.
Reading between the lines and looking at the various photos it appears that the car people who want it re-opened for cars were outnumbered. See example articles here and here. I’m surprised Road.cc hasn’t done an article on it.
Once I was earning decent
Once I was earning decent money I moved to a better part of the parish and what made it “better” was the close proximity of tube stations, GP, shops, park etc. Look at where the well to do professionals live, places like Hampstead, Islington, Notting Hill etc, and they are invariably sub 15 minute neighbourhoods.
Dont mock the paranoid audience this cr&p is aimed at too harshly though. Change has been sweeping thru’ their worlds since the Covid lockdowns, much of it unimaginable ten years ago.
Bill H wrote:
Many of them are folks old enough to remember times when there were more local shops, doctors, schools etc. And fewer cars.
So long before the last couple of years or even last 20.
But they don’t want to give up (they think) the good they have now.
And some of them were perhaps calling for more motorways through other people’s communities when they were young.
(A slight note of sympathy – as they have ailed and the world has become less local they’re maybe focused on their own needs – in an environment which could be rather hostile to old folks without the car…)
The people who want
The people who want Hammersmith Bridge to reopen for motor vehicles have this strange idea that traffic jams will disappear on the roads to Putney Bridge – they will not; there will be two lots of gridlock traffic jams during the day, as it was when the bridge was open. I should know, I cycled on the roads to and from work for a long time when Hammersmith Bridge was open to motor vehicles.