Anger as “tone-deaf” Traffic Scotland tells cycling groups “courtesy goes a long way” and to “be mindful of traffic behind you”, days after cyclist killed by driver during club ride; The most stylish man at the worlds?; SNL x Lime + more on the live blog

Traffic Scotland, the traffic-reporting wing of Transport Scotland, has come in for criticism over the weekend after telling cyclists on group rides to be “mindful of traffic behind you” and that “courtesy goes a long way”, just over a week after the death of Iain McTavish at the hands of a driver during a club ride.

46-year-old McTavish, a popular member of Johnstone Wheelers Cycling Club, was cycling with two clubmates on the A8 in Port Glasgow, in the west of Scotland, on Tuesday 8 September when he was fatally struck by the driver of a Ford C-Max Zetec. He died at the scene.

The two other cyclists, aged 37 and 27, were also involved in the collision and taken to hospital to be treated, with one believed to have suffered serious injuries.

“Iain was a vital member of the Scottish Cycling community, a member of Johnstone Wheelers Cycling Club, a stalwart of the Renfrew bunch and Georgetown TTs,” Scottish Cycling said in a statement at the time.

“Iain was the only person to have attended every round of Track League last year and stood as rider rep on their committee. A reliable and friendly face that you knew would be at the meet point of a ride even if nobody else showed up.

“The messages highlighting his positive influence on so many people are already pouring in, and his loss will be felt heavily in the west of Scotland. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends, and everyone who knew him.”

> Tributes paid to “vital member of the Scottish cycling community” killed by driver during club ride

The outpouring of grief among the cycling community in the wake of McTavish’s death was then compounded at the weekend by an ill-timed road safety post from Traffic Scotland.

Traffic Scotland, a service provided by government agency Transport Scotland, publishes real-time traffic and travel information for the entire Scottish trunk road and motorway network. It also occasionally posts safety advice on its social media channels, its most recent one directed at groups of cyclists on the roads.

“Group rides are great fun – but remember to be mindful of traffic behind you. Courtesy on the road goes a long way,” Traffic Scotland posted on X on Saturday afternoon, complete with the hashtag #SafeJourney.

The post has since been widely condemned by the Scottish cycling community, who have accused the government body of adopting a “tone deaf, victim blaming” stance in the wake of this month’s fatal crash.

“Yes, responding to a lack of courtesy was the reason a driver killed one of my pals last week. Should’ve been more courteous. Thanks for the tip,” Colin Edgar, a director of comms at Glasgow City Council, replied.

“Why on earth would you post this?!” asked Terence. “An important rider from our cycling community in central Scotland, literally died after being struck from behind just 11 days before this post was made. Whoever came up with this and signed off on it can seriously GTF!”

“Victim blaming never goes out of fashion it seems,” said Jerry, while Willie added: “Talk about tone deaf victim blaming. Perhaps a word to impatient and discourteous drivers, Traffic Scotland.”

> Why do cyclists ride two abreast?

“Whose idea was this?” asked Alan. “Absolutely shameful. I’m fucking raging about the message you are sending out.”

“In the last decade, about three people every week have been killed by drivers on your roads,” noted Johnny. “In that time, the only people you’ve asked to be courteous are cyclists. Make it make sense.”

“I’m always mindful of the traffic behind me,” noted Michael. “I always feel I need to keep half my peripheral vision locked on whether they’re about to close pass, injure, or kill me.

“It’s a little discourteous to kill people through one’s rubbish driving, don’t you think?”

Meanwhile, others noted that the post was misleading when it comes to the safety advantages of riding two-abreast on the road, as opposed to single file.

“You’ve got to be having a laugh, right?!” another Michael said. “If you are riding in a group, riding two abreast and in a close group is a protective factor against a road death rate which is over three times the murder rate. Get a grip of the reality of things, for goodness’ sake.”

And Will said: “I thought all those daily deaths on the road were caused mostly by dangerous, negligent, and careless driving. Turns out it just requires a little courtesy.”

Adespoto accused Traffic Scotland of “garbage messaging”, telling the body that “drunk, drugged, unlicensed and speeding drivers are killing people. Delete this shit.”

> Most drivers wrongly believe cyclists must ride single file, stay close to the kerb, and use cycle lanes – and one in three say they shouldn’t have equal rights on the road, new Highway Code survey finds

Finally, Donald said: “Remember to be mindful of cyclists in front of you lest you mow them down through bad driving, lack of concentration, speeding, close passing, phone use, and a host of other dangerous driving practices seen daily.

“Traffic Scotland, your timing is astonishing given recent death.”

You can have your space-age aero kit, nutrition plans, and super-fast tyres. You can even have your rainbow jerseys. Because this is what the world championships is really all about.

A few hours before Remco blew everyone away with another jaw-dropping, bullet-like display, GIL Gomes of Guinea-Bissau rocked up to the start-line of the elite men’s world time trial championships in Montreal… sporting a pair of Ray-Bans, a normal Casco road helmet, and riding a Scott road bike.

Class.

Who cares if Gil finished dead-last, with the kind of average speed that would earn you a ‘well done, son, you’ll get better as the season goes on’ at your local club 10? He’s just raced at a world championships. In Ray-Bans.

When it comes to time trialling, or cycling in general, style should always beat substance. Well, that’s my opinion, anyway. I’m not sure Evenepoel or Reusser would agree with me, but as I’ve said before, a world champs is about much more than those wearing a nice rainbow jersey on the podium.

Anyway, would you rather ride your bike wearing one of those new massive alien-like time trial helmets or looking like Gil? Told you…

Until yesterday afternoon, it had been 15 long years since a British rider stood on the podium of the elite women’s time trial at the world championships. But Zoe Bäckstedt isn’t one to be burdened by the weight of history, or the expectations of the worlds.

On the bumpy, constantly turning streets of Montreal, the Welsh star became only the second British women ever – after Emma Pooley, who bagged the rainbow jersey in 2010 before taking bronze the following year – to win a medal in the elite women’s TT, finishing second behind Marlen Reusser with a stunning ride.

Eschewing the opportunity to defend her U23 TT title, and add a ninth rainbow jersey to her collection, Bäckstedt delivered a blistering ride, leading through the first two intermediate time checks, with gold seemingly in reach.

But then Marlen Reusser did some classic Marlen Reusser things, the Swiss locomotive powering through the final section, overtaking her Tour de France Femmes nemesis Demi Vollering, who started a minute and a half ahead of her, in the process, to secure back-to-back world TT titles, 40 seconds clear of Bäckstedt.

But that was enough for Bäckstedt to take silver on the longest women’s time trial course in worlds history, her time of 51.04 on the 39.2km route enough to beat Paris-Roubaix winner Franzi Koch by five seconds and fourth-placed Elisa Longo Borghini by 10.

Not bad for an elite debut, not bad at all.

“At the Tour I was fourth, and I was really disappointed with this, and I think that was also a super good ride,” Bäckstedt told Cycling Weekly after bagging an elite silver.

“But immediately when I crossed the line here, I was over the moon. I didn’t know what to expect in a result. I could’ve been anywhere from the win to top 10. And to come away with second… I felt strong on the bike, which was really a positive thing.”

For Reusser, her second consecutive rainbow jersey means she ends 2026 on a high, after a turbulent year marred by a broken back and a rollercoaster Tour, which saw her wear yellow before sliding off the podium on the final day in Nice following a crash.

“It was a good present,” the Swiss rider, who celebrated her 35^th birthday yesterday, said.

“The course made me really nervous. On one hand I really was looking forward to it because it has so many challenges, technical aspects, which makes it much more interesting to ride.

“But from the side of pacing and understanding how fast you should go and how you should also cope with these challenges on the way, I was really nervous and I wasn’t really sure because we don’t have time trials like this often. Until an hour ago I was not 100 per cent sure and also on the course I was not 100 per cent sure.”

Asked how she coped in the end on the longer, technical course, the ever-charismatic Reusser smiled and replied: “I think I coped well, apparently.”

Now, there’s an understatement.