“This is why cyclists are hated”: Outrage at “entitled” side-by-side riders on painted bike lane – but was dad simply stopping drivers “putting child’s life at risk”?; Cycling Canada pulled women’s team pursuit; Giro coverage + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Viral outrage at riders going side-by-side accidentally makes the case for protected cycle lanes
Another day, another viral clip of cyclists committing the apparently unforgivable crime of… riding legally.
This is why they’re hated. pic.twitter.com/HugRiplqVj
— RayRay 🇬🇧✝️🏴 (@RayMairead) May 11, 2026
The video, which is captioned “This is why they’re hated,” simply shows two cyclists riding side-by-side on a painted cycle lane.
As commenters point out, “the cyclists aren’t breaking any laws, in fact they are following them.”
Posted by someone who supports the New World Order conspiracy (speculating about a secretly emerging totalitarian world government), you would assume she has more to worry about than having to wait a few minutes before overtaking two bikes.
> Why do cyclists ride two abreast?
As PotatoMcWhiskey sarcastically points out, “Car drivers when they have to go 25km/hr for a minute or two so as not to kill another person with their giant metal brick on wheels”
Other commenters have pointed out that it seems that the cyclist on the outside is protecting the one on the inside.
Ryan said: “looks like a dad trying to make sure somebody doesn’t try and put their child’s life at risk to me.”
But not everyone agrees on whether that makes things safer. John Stretch argues that “If so, he is potentially making it more dangerous by tempting an unsafe pass. Safer staying behind and not creating an angry driver.”
In response, Ryan added “No, he’s stopping somebody overtaking on blind corners. When the road goes straight, I’m sure he’ll move over”.
Interestingly, in the comments the debate drifts into supporting protected cycle lanes. The original poster, RayRay, said: “I’ve been on bike rides with my young niece years ago, and I’m too afraid to ride on the roads, we stayed on the path, there are cycle lanes, 10s of miles of them now.”
As Overlordmainstream adds: “Legal to cycle 2 abreast. Mildly annoying but where do you have to be in such a hurry? Proper cycle lanes would solve your issue. In this instance there’s plenty of space on the left to create a cycleway.”
Maybe it isn’t the cyclists that “are hated” but the lack of safe cycling infrastructure?
Pure drama and chaos at the Giro as Igor Arrieta recovers from crash and wrong turn to seal epic, last-gasp stage five victory
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Wow, just wow. I might need to have a lie-down after all that. After an incredibly dramatic, chaotic, nailbiting finish, Igor Arrieta has taken the victory on stage five of the Giro. But boy, did he have to work for it.
After skidding around a corner with 14km to go, he managed to remount and continue the fight as his breakaway companion Eulálio also hit the deck, so it looked set to go right down to the wire.
Then, with just 2km to go, Arrieta managed to catch up to Eulálio but then overcooked a corner, sailing down a wrong turn and straight into the police tape blocking the road. After emerging from the tape that had wrapped itself around him, the UAE Team Emirates rider almost came a cropper once again, after nearly losing control of his bike while angrily attempting to put the power down on the slick roads of Potenza.
At that point, it looked like his chance of victory had gone, but, seemingly fuelled by pure frustration and determination, he somehow dug in and managed to come back again, clawing Eulálio back on the uphill drag to the line and overhauling him in the final 50 metres. What a finish!
The Spaniard said: “I didn’t think it was lost [after I crashed]. I knew I needed to try to the end. It was the hardest stage I have done. You never know, I was completely empty in the last kilometres, but I knew Eulalio was the same. We both deserved the victory but, in the end, I have it.
”When I lost Eulalio with 2km to go, I thought it was impossible. But then I kept pushing and saw that he wasn’t going faster than me. When I took his wheel I was like, f***, maybe I can win – and it was like this. Today was a good day – in the end, it was the perfect day.”
Afonso Eulálio, who at points looked set for victory, had to settle for second but still did enough to secure the pink jersey, and by a healthy margin too, as the peloton finished over seven minutes down.
Behind, Giulio Ciccone was left isolated after a brutal day in miserable conditions and ultimately surrendered the pink jersey after the race splintered around him in the decisive phase. Former pink jersey Guillermo Silva crossed the line 51 seconds down to take third place, as Eulálio heads into stage six with an almost three minute lead on GC, the entire Giro turned on its head.
What a mad stage!
Giro: Double fall!
What a rollercoaster. First, Arrieta goes down on a damp corner, sliding into the barriers after losing his front wheel, but shows real resilience to remount and chase back towards Eulálio.
Just as the gap between the leading pair begins to open up, Eulálio also hits the deck. He’s forced into a bike change but wastes no time getting back on the road.
Giro: nightmare day for Giulio Ciccone
A nightmare day in pink is unfolding for Giulio Ciccone, who appears resigned to losing the Giro lead after being isolated and distanced in brutal conditions.
Ciccone is left without team support as Derek Gee protects his own GC ambitions, with the race set to pass near Ciccone’s home roads on Friday, adding extra pressure to the situation.
Up front, Afonso Eulálio and Igor Arrieta have stretched their advantage to almost five minutes, turning the stage into a likely two-man fight while Eulálio edges closer to pink.
Giro: Idiots at bike races #265 – spectator steps out in front of Arrieta
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When it rains, it pours (into the team car): Tudor rider reportedly involved in horror crash through UAE car window – but he’s still riding
Shades of Jan Ullrich and the 2005 Tour de France at the Giro this afternoon, where the UAE Team Emirates car has been spotted notably missing its rear window (I’m too young to understand that 21-year-old reference, but Ryan reliably informs me it makes sense).
RAI has reported that Mathys Rondel from Tudor Pro Cycling was involved in the incident, which left the rear window of the UAE team car broken, continuing the team’s rollercoaster ride of a Giro so far.
We’re not sure exactly what happened yet, though it has been reported that Rondel crashed into the back of the car while riding through the convoy. We’ll keep an eye out for more info when we get it.
In any case, judging by the damage, I’d be surprised if that didn’t hurt, but apparently Rondel is still riding and is in the peloton!
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Giro: conditions improve but still impacting riders
With riders yet to reach the halfway point, the slog towards Potenza continues. The gap to the 13 leaders is currently 1:54, with Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier of Lidl-Trek setting a steady tempo on the front as the peloton gradually closes in.
The cold is still clearly taking its toll, with riders struggling with numb hands, while Felix Gall needed assistance getting his jacket on.
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Manchester Metropolitan University and British Cycling announce partnership to “explore cutting-edge performance science and data innovation”
Manchester Metropolitan University and British Cycling have announced a new strategic partnership aimed at boosting elite performance, driving sports innovation and increasing inclusion in cycling across the UK.
The collaboration brings together Manchester Met’s Institute of Sport and British Cycling’s elite performance programmes to support Great Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic cycling success, while also expanding participation at grassroots level.
Research will span performance science, data and AI, engineering and social impact, with a focus on improving training methods, equipment design and athlete wellbeing. A key strand will also support women’s cycling through Manchester Met’s Centre of Excellence for Women in Sport, including work on female-specific equipment and health research.
British Cycling chief executive Jon Dutton said: “Our innovation-led partnership with Manchester Met University opens many opportunities for both organisations around elite performance support, while having inclusion, participation and impact right at its core.
“Collaborations like this benefit both organisations as the partnership will operate in world-class environments, increasing skills across the board, bringing significant results, and important development across several areas.”
Manchester Met’s Professor Tim Cable added that: ““Our partnership with British Cycling will explore cutting‑edge performance science and data innovation, building on Manchester Met’s expertise in biomechanics and applied sport science.
“Based in the sporting city of Manchester, our research and expertise will help British Cycling to achieve its goals, pushing the limits of elite performance while realising opportunities to widen participation in cycling and create opportunities and pathways for our students.
Giro: Anyone for a pint?
A spectator has been spotted offering the peloton a pint, but was completely ignored by them all. Maybe because the rain has watered it down?
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"They're swimming in it": Giro introduces triathlon stage
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Giro: Weather is shocking with a hard start on a climb
With the heavy rain creating a dense fog that you can hardly make out the riders, they have tackled a hard climb at the start.
Despite these testing conditions, there have been numerous attacks, with Visma-Lease a Bike particularly active early on.
The leading trio, Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain-Victorious), Einer Rubio (Movistar) and Guillermo Thomas Silva (Astana) have crested the first climb, with Rubio taking 9pts at the summit ahead of his breakaway companions.
It’s set to be a brutal day in the saddle, with more than 4,000 metres of climbing packed into a 203km route from Praia a Mare to Potenza.
Safe to say I don’t envy them…
“They are destroying years of equality as well as the future of the sport”: Cycling Canada have pulled women’s team pursuit
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After the news yesterday that the women’s Tour de Romandie has been cancelled due to a lack of sponsors and “event overload”, Cycling Canada has pulled the women’s team pursuit from its 2028 Los Angeles Olympic programme.
The governing body will continue to fund the men’s team through the Olympic cycle, but will not field a women’s team for October’s UCI Track World Championships in Shanghai, China, or attempt to qualify for LA.
In a statement to Cycling Weekly, Cycling Canada CEO Mathieu Boucher said the decision was “performance-based, informed by objective, evidence-based analysis. While difficult, it was made in the best interest of the program’s long-term success.”
He added that the women’s programme was not “trending towards medal-winning potential.”
The Canadian women’s team pursuit squad won bronze medals at both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. At the Paris Olympics two years ago, they finished eighth, while the men’s team came home seventh.
More recently, at the UCI Track World Championships in Santiago, Chile last October, the women’s squad placed ninth, with the men finishing 11th.
On Instagram, Fiona Majendie, a reserve member of the Paris Olympic squad, said: “To rip away our chance to qualify for the Olympics is both gut-wrenching and infuriating.”
“What has happened this past week is not something I am willing to stand for.”
“People will always try and put a ceiling on you. Cycling Canada is not only putting a lid on the women’s programme right now, but they are also burying it beneath the ground, and they are destroying years of equality as well as the future of the sport in Canada for all our developing juniors.”
Last week, the women’s track squad voiced concerns over a “disparity in access to high-performance opportunities based on gender” in an open letter to Cycling Canada, requesting a formal review of the decision.
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Lily Plante, a squad member for the past six years, said: “None of this happened because the athletes stopped caring or stopped working hard enough.
“Like many others on this team, I sacrificed financially, physically, mentally, and personally to represent Canada on the international stage.
“I paid thousands of dollars out of pocket to race across the world, qualify spots for Worlds, and keep this programme alive because I believed in what it could become.
“The hardest part is knowing that this group of women is incredibly talented. Individually, many of us have continued getting stronger every year, yet as a team, performances stagnated. That should raise difficult questions about the system supporting us, not just the athletes within it.
“This programme deserved better. The athletes deserved better.”
Pro cyclist left unconscious with broken nose after being beaten up by teenagers during training ride
Dutch sprinter Arvid de Kleijn has revealed he was assaulted by a group of teenagers whilst on a training ride last month, leaving him unconscious and with a broken nose.
The 32-year-old Tudor Pro Cycling rider was training near the Brabant town of St. Oedenrode in the south of the Netherlands when a group of teenagers started hurling abuse at him, including referring to the terminal cancer that killed his father earlier in the year, De Kleijn told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf and his own team website. It’s not clear what specific language was used.
Who needs bin men anyways?
Forgot to renew my garden waste bin collection
by
u/iMacThere4iAm in
carryshitolympics
Who needs bin men when you have a tow hitch on your cargo bike?
Unfortunately, more sensible Reddit commentors have pointed out that “the wheels on that bin are not designed to be rolled at any significant speed or distance.”
Another asked for advice as the bin kept tipping over, to which the original poster admits that “The truth is, I never got started on the journey because I was having too much fun building the tow hitch.
“So I’m not sure how it will handle with a full bin or an empty one, but I will definitely have to go slow.”
Maybe we should keep using bin lorries for our rubbish…
“We as a society need a long, hard look at ourselves”: Drivers also have issues with lollipop ladies protecting “tiny kids”
It isn’t just cyclists protecting their kids that is the reason why “cyclists are hated”, as road.cc commentor Clem Fandango points out, Lollipop people are also apparently hated.
According to a piece in the Guardian, Lollipop people have been given body-worn cameras to record drivers.
And as the little onion comments, “When it has got to the stage where people standing in the road to help tiny kids cross safely to reach school are being abused to the point where they need body cameras, then we as a society need a long, hard look at ourselves.”
It seems that car drivers don’t only have issues cyclists causing slight delays in order to protect their safety, but also have issues in people whose job is to protect children.
One lollipop person, Gorrara describes the situation as “It’s really scary, because you’re constantly watching the children – that’s my priority.
“When you know they’re not going to stop, you’ve got to make sure you’ve got everybody else out of the way, too.”
"I paid for this seat post I’m using every bit of it!"
Canyon’s brand new Endurace CF SLX 8 is £150 cheaper than the outgoing model. Could it set the new fast and comfortable road bike standard?
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@Rendel Harris where he decided to be on the drops, but lose gears, maybe he could still have sprinted on the hoods, I’ve seen riders do it and still have the ability to select the gear he needs. It might not have been perfect but he’d of had the gear he needed.
Quote - “ However, although the drivetrain was operational once more, the piece of asphalt remained lodged inside the lever, preventing him from using the full range of gears for the remainder of the stage.” He didn’t lose gears, he just rode in a way that made it difficult to select them. Not the same thing.
40+???? How do they even function????
I do think the Cycling Calendar needs changing, like they done Paris Roubaix in October once and it worled. Something needs sorting with the order of races, exercise at ultra high levels affects the body to its optimal state of performance, add in the stress factor of heat and you're on a different pitch of play, a higher level of performance.
Mark is truly lovely human and an amazing cyclist, with zero ego about his amazing accomplishments!
@Simon14 I don't agree with him but to be fair he was an Australian professional so he probably does know a bit about riding in extreme heat (albeit doped up).
@I love my bike I'd guess flicked up by a car or moto at a time when Tom was braking so the hood was open, flew into the gap created, he stopped braking and it got trapped inside then rattled around a bit before snugging down against the top of the paddle mechanism.
So, how did the piece of asphalt get up inside the lever?
The most insightful people always come from Lewisham 🎉
36 thoughts on ““This is why cyclists are hated”: Outrage at “entitled” side-by-side riders on painted bike lane – but was dad simply stopping drivers “putting child’s life at risk”?; Cycling Canada pulled women’s team pursuit; Giro coverage + more on the live blog”
This is why Lollipop ladies are hated (apparently): https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/may/13/why-do-lollipop-people-face-so-much-road-rage
All sounds very much like a you problem (glancing in your direction here angry motornormative types)
@Clem Fandango
When it has got to the stage where people standing in the road to help tiny kids cross safely to reach school are being abused to the point where they need body cameras, then we as a society need a long, hard look at ourselves
No! Let’s tackle the root cause. Aim abuse at young children. If they didn’t selfishly walk to school instead of being driven in a huge SUV, lollipop men / ladies wouldn’t be needed.
The money saved on their salaries and pensions could be channelled into road widening schemes.
This suggestion is going straight into Farage’s in-tray.
A.N. Overwait Bygott,
Clacton,
Essex.
@Mr Blackbird Loophole will no doubt shortly be demanding that their hi-viz duds contain a registration number so they can be identified (obviously those large signs pose a danger to vulnerable motorists & could easily write off an SUV) & that they pay “road tax” for occupying the road space. The unaccountable, woke swines.
@Clem Fandango Suffolk county council has given lollipop people body-worn cameras to record drivers behaving badly
They’ll soon be disappointed when the police do nothing
Some of the footage captured by the body-worn cameras has led to action by the police, with officers having a stern word with abusive drivers…
Ho! Ho!
I took early retirement 20 years ago and took a job as a lollipop man.
Even before the advent of smart phones drivers found ways to be distracted, shaving, resding, eating from a bowl balanced on the steering wheel etc.
I was deliberately driven at several times but the last straw was when a 7 years old was hit on the arm by a driver who ignored my stop sign.
I got his reg details and statements from witnesses. This evidence was passed to the police. I heard nothing subsequently.
The answer should be to close school roads to motor traffic during school drop-off/pick-up times. That should remove the need for Lollipop people.
@hawkinspeter Brilliant idea! Close the roads say a mile, mile and a half around schools…just right for a little bike ride…
@Daveyraveygravey Doesn’t even need to be as much as a mile.
Here in Bristol we have the Bristol School Streets initiative which is somewhat similar: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/streets-travel/road-safety-in-schools/bristol-school-streets
I think they’ve only got that going in a couple of places where the parents took matters into their own hands to prevent drivers terrorising the kids.
@hawkinspeter Close the roads?! Surely “reduce the speed limit to 20mph for the 50 metres directly outside the school, but only for the 15 minutes the lights are flashing”?
Commonsense, apparently…
“Weight limit introduced on Vauxhall Bridge”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4p10l3833o
@mitsky That’s what you get for building a river through the middle of your city, I’m sure drivers will be mad at whoever had that idea!
@Backladder I wonder if it was the same person who decided to build London so close to Heathrow airport.
That reminds me of a tale my friend told me (I’m sure it is apocryphal) When he was working at the ticket office at Windsor Castle, some American tourists said to him ‘this is such a lovely castle, it’s a shame they built it so close to the airport.’
@Rome73 I wouldn’t bet on that being apocryphal when the President of the USA, when looking at a satellite shot of the Korean Peninsula, asked why Seoul had been built so close to the border with North Korea.
People who say “this is why cyclists are hated” and similar sentiments are incapable of understanding not everyone has the same opinion as them. Fortunately most drivers are reasonable, it’s just even 1 in 100 or 1 in 1000 drivers being angry psychopaths is enough to put people off cycling on roads.
I pity people that go straight to hatred when someone delays their journey.
@Boopop I think that the percentage of dodgy drivers is waaay higher than that in my experience. Not the really bad ones but just the standard bad ones. I ride to nursery 3 days a week with 2 young children very obviously on the back. There are still far too many people who don’t care and will overtake too closely or attempt overtakes when its not safe. I’m always torn about taking primary with them on the back because plenty of people will still overtake at the wrong time and instead of being slightly on the other side of the road on a blind corner, they will be completely on the wrong side when they face a car coming in the opposite direction.
@mctrials23 Yeah, I don’t really have a clue what the proportion of bad/terrible drivers is to good drivers, it just pisses me off when idiots try to “everyone hates cyclists”, which is clearly nonsense.
Taking primary position is often fraught, I share your frustrations. Wishing you good fortune with carting your kids around.
@mctrials23 I think that the percentage of dodgy drivers is waaay higher than that in my experience. Not the really bad ones but just the standard bad ones
That’s a reference to the postulated ‘1 in 100 or 1 in 1000’, and I agree
@mctrials23 instead of being slightly on the other side of the road on a blind corner, they will be completely on the wrong side when they face a car coming in the opposite direction…
They will then swerve into the comfy soft-bodied cyclists, rather than collide with the nasty hard steel oncoming vehicle, and will receive a sympathetic hearing for the ‘but I had to, because of the entirely unexpected…’ excuse. I have experienced that exact excuse in a Stagecoach response to one of these, years ago:
Now they just send a standard brush-off ‘we’ll look into it, and if we think it’s necessary we’ll take an action that we won’t tell you about’ response, knowing that the police opinion is just ‘that’s unfortunate, the bus missed him’
@wtjs Yep. The “what else was I supposed to do” defence. Its a good defence because a large chunk of drivers think in exactly that manner. “Well if the cyclist wasn’t there…”. You see it on all these videos. People who seem to consider themselves the voice of reason as well. The ones that post along the lines of “it was a bad overtake but this is why cyclists shouldn’t be on the roads”.
@mctrials23 it’s tough luck for the victim / society the moment we all nod along to “I *had* to drive…”
@mctrials23 “I ride to nursery 3 days a week with 2 young children very obviously on the back.”
My child and I should have been very obvious to the driver who decided to overtake us this week while I was indicating and about to turn right into a side road. Thankfully I heard him coming before turning, and glanced across to see him look up from his phone and apologise while passing us on the wrong side of the road (couldn’t fault his passing distance) on the approach to said side road and a zebra crossing immediately after. Decided not to make the turn and go to have a word. Do you think he was: (a) alarmed by the experience; or (b) back on his phone when I caught up at the next traffic lights?
@quiff I’m sure he was massively apologetic and hasn’t used his phone behind the wheel again.
Considering the number of times people overtake me on blind corners and the number of them that have met oncoming vehicles but avoided a crash, I doubt it registers with them. If it does, its almost certainly “fucking cyclists”.
Was driving home from Wales the other week and someone overtook a cyclist on a NSL road. If I didn’t slam on the brakes and drop my speed to under 20 from 60 I would have hit them. They made little to no effort to move back to their side of the road as they barrelled towards me. My mind was boggled.
Cyclists have become the universal excuse for reckless driving.
The problem is it only takes one…
I see road.cc is back to an endless cycle of ragebait pieces to headline the live blog. Depressing.
I had to drive into work today and I was delayed by five minutes because somebody decided to turn right out of a side road into a queue of traffic and block the clear road in front of me. This sort of thing is a daily occurrence.
No delays were caused by cyclists.
I also saw two illegal u-turns and 3 red lights ran, by cars, in the first five minutes, but nobody cares about that sort of thing because they don’t even know what the rules are and do it themselves too.
@bensynnock
“… and 3 red lights ran, by DRIVERS…”
And I’ve often suggested drivers (who complain about cyclists) calculate their journey times during rush hour/school term v non-rush hour/school holiday times and try to work out where the delay is actually coming from…
In China (also saw the same in Spain earlier this year), the local police is in charge of ensuring that children reach and leave their schools in a totally safe environment. A single cop keeps everything and everybody under control. No verbal abuse. No honking. No inappropriate gesture. Of course, this works in countries where people still have respect for uniformed servicemen and women.
Have you transformed “At least they made the trains run on time…” into “At least they kept the school run orderly” there?
Not sure about Spain but it wasn’t so long back that it was under authoritarian rule. And the police were presumably allowed more licence to get on with ensuring the expected “order”. Perhaps memories persist?
@MaxiMinimalist
You appear to have confused “have respect for” with “are terrified of”. Not quite the same thing.
Re: the green bin trailer; that wouldn’t work where I live, as you are required to use a car to visit the local tip.
Also, an empty wheelie bin towed by an e-bike but buck like a crazed stallion. You would empty your garden waste, then have to fill it up to tow it home. None the less – I might give it a try.
A ridiculously entertaining day of racing in Italy, we watched it “as live” from 100 km last night and by the end we were shouting at the screen as if it were a cup final. Brilliant. It did make me wonder though, with many of the riders clearly suffering very badly from the cold and damp, why do they only ever wear those thin neoprene gloves which clearly aren’t doing much of a job in conditions like yesterday? Certainly a proper pair of ski gloves, or even electrically heated gloves, lobster claws or mittens wouldn’t be as aero but that can’t be that important for anyone not going for the break. With Visma basically shutting up shop and cruising home from a long way out one would’ve thought the benefits of keeping the hands properly warm would far outweigh the minimal aero losses?