“Imagine we talked about cars like this”: Londoners react to BBC video asking if the city’s “e-bike situation has gone too far”; Reaction to razor-tight European Championships + more on the live blog

I’m going to stick my proverbial neck out here, and say that I think that BBC London’s YouTube video on the rise of e-bikes in the capital is, though not perfect, pretty good.

It outlines the recent growth of e-bikes, the infrastructure difficulties presented by their surging popularity, and gives a voice to efforts to regulate the industry in the name of helping the e-bike market grow and simplify.

It also summarises e-bike policy developments we’ve also covered in recent months, including Westminster council seizing badly parked e-bikes, operators ignoring council contracts to continue operating in boroughs they shouldn’t, and the issues of insurance and compensation for injured riders and pedestrians.

> “The legislation doesn’t cope”: Calls for e-bike hire law changes as Lime bike-related injury claims surge in London

That said, the headline and featured image are a little sensationalist, designed to grab your attention and provoke an opinion. And opinions they have provoked…

“Can’t go very far across London without cars being in your way and being everywhere.”

“Funny when all the roads are clogged with vehicles no one asks if it’s ‘gone too far’”

“Imagine we talked about cars like this. We’re absolutely brainwashed.”

> Plans for London-wide e-bike hire licences delayed by impending public consultation

> “The ‘Wild West’ approach to dockless e-bikes cannot continue”: Sadiq Khan sets out plan for regulating London bikeshare schemes, urging Department for Transport to act fast to “make these powers a reality”

Indeed, motonormativity was the talk of the town square over on YouTube, whilst Reddit users seemed more aware of some of their flaws…

“The whataboutism about cars being dangerous doesn’t exactly mean we can just ignore the cavalier attitude that the dockless hire companies have taken to chucking their products onto every street corner.

“The fact that each council sets their own rules on them as well doesn’t help, and it’s taking way too long for the mayors office to actually pull this into their remit so we can have a proper city-wide policy.”

“It’s not a zero sum issue. Cars are a problem but so are e-bikes with the lack of storage locations around the city which means they often pile up and cause problems for pedestrians. And the lack of training for most cyclists which means a large proportion of e-bike users frequently flout the Highway Code, putting other road users at risk. The e-bike companies are usually unaccountable also if one of their riders cause a traffic accident. Both issues need to be addressed.”

Or perhaps put most succinctly: “Ignoring the problems of e-bikes because you don’t like cars is not helpful. I say this as a cyclist who hates cars.”

As is often the case, two things can be true at once. A rise in demand for e-bikes should be welcomed and accommodated whilst efforts to shape and improve rider behaviour are also good! But anyway, the thoughts of the panel are welcome!

 

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Embrace the chaos…

 

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Embrace the mud, resistance is futile!

 

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I would like to wish a warm hello to the EF press officers who announced Lachlan Morton’s next endurance challenge at 5pm on Friday. But since they’re not the first, nor the last, we’ll move on from this gripe and talk about what the Australian is actually doing…

Setting off this morning from the Missouri/Kansas border, Morton is retracing the Pony Express Trail, heading west and paying homage to the horsemen who carried post from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, during the heyday of the 19th-century postal service. It’s 3,164km in total, or 1,966 miles in old money.

“The appeal for me is the history of it,” he said. “It’s wild to get into that mindset – you’re a kid trying to make some money, and there’s this opportunity to ride a horse with a mochila full of mail through the night for 75 miles (120 kilometers) flat out, across remote, gnarly terrain that no one else has been crossing. It’s quite a courageous thing. It’s hard to imagine, and that’s why I want to go out there and try to get a better understanding of what that would have been like, and the difficulties they faced doing it over 150 years ago.”

For all the lore of the route, it only lasted around 18 months before being eclipsed by the telegraph line, but Morton is undeterred, and has set himself the challenge of beating the time set by couriers delivering Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural address across the country in seven days and 17 hours. And since they were changing horses every 10 miles, Morton has decided to afford himself the luxury of changing bikes according to the terrain, with his brother Gus accompanying him with a truck full of gear.

Anyway, Morton is underway and already ahead of the horse on the live tracker. Best of luck to him.

 

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Incidentally, Morton also revealed last week in the aftermath of his Three Peaks cyclocross victory that he would leave the EF stable after this attempt, though the 34-year-old confirmed he had no plans to stop racing. Having first joined the team in 2012, he’s been with the team since 2019, before in 2022 switching to his alternative calendar of ultra-endurance challenges. An end of an era for the pioneer…

Whilst we’re chasing up a couple of stories, our Liam (that one, not the other one) has some thoughts on off-road riding…

> Opinion: The mountain bike hills I WILL die on

And here’s a nice aerial view of the city’s busiest bike lane, which I’m told carries 20,000-30,000 cycling trips a day

[image or embed]

— Laura Laker (@lauralaker.bsky.social) 5 October 2026 at 10:51

Where else to start today’s weekend racing round-up than at the European Championships in Slovenia. Before you ask, yes he was there, but celebrating the retirement of compatriot Luka Mezgec.

🇸🇮🐐 Era en su casa y no se lo podía perder: Tadej Pogacar, junto a Urska Zigart, presente en la que es la despedida de Luka Mezgec

#EuroRoad26 #LaCasadelCiclismo https://t.co/H2Y17uLbEz

— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) October 4, 2026

As for the race itself, it came to life on the penultimate lap when Remco Evenepoel countered an attack by Giulio Ciccone and looked to be going clear, only to slide out on the corner at the top of the climb!

HUGE DRAMA!!

Remco Evenepoel crashes after attacking off the front with Giulio Ciccone 😱😱 https://t.co/46lkXEs1lf

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) October 4, 2026

Thankfully for the Belgian, he had two teammates to pace him back to the favourites, before he then attacked on the descent, taking Ciccone with him whilst the chase stalled behind.

It set up an extraordinary two-up sprint at the finish, with the Italian dive-bombing into the final corner and launching his acceleration with 300m remaining. That was too long though, and gave the Belgian time to just, and I mean just, take the win.

INSANE FINALE AT THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS!! 🤯🤯

Remco Evenepoel comes from miles back in the sprint to pip Giulio Ciccone to the title! 🌟 https://t.co/KcSQTo0IB7

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) October 4, 2026

And the photo-finish suggests it was a marginally mis-timed bike throw by the Italian that cost him glory…

HOW CLOSE WAS THAT!?

This is the margin that decided the European Championships between Remco Evenepoel and Giulio Ciccone 🤯📸 https://t.co/1Z0KvBXpot

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) October 4, 2026

That win for Evenepoel means he has become the first rider, man or woman, to be a national, continental, world and Olympic champion in BOTH the road race and time trial. He has literally won every race there is to win whilst representing your country – an extraordinary achievement, and he’s still only 26.

For all the Merckx comparisons that surround Tadej Pogacar, Evenepoel is surely staking a claim for consideration as at least the greatest Belgian since then, with apologies to the likes of Tom Boonen and Philippe Gilbert. Phenomenal nonetheless.

In the women’s race, Demi Vollering cemented her status as the best rider in the world. Debuting in the rainbow stripes of world champion, Vollering attacked with 14km remaining on the steep Mozjanca climb and never looked back. Puck Pieterse took second to complete a Dutch 1-2, whilst Vollering’s victory – a 10th for the Dutch in 11 years – means the European jersey will go unseen the coming year.

Vollering completes the World and Euro double 😮

Demi Vollering and Puck Pieterse finish 1-2 for the Netherlands at the European Championships after attacking clear on the final climb. https://t.co/kdCLkdRB8a

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) October 3, 2026

Elsewhere, new world champion Brandon McNulty had his first outings in rainbow stripes, over in Italy, and came close to taking a win. But his compatriot Matteo Jorgenson was back in rival colours, marking him down before Visma teammate Davide Piganzoli broke free to take the win ahead of Tom Pidcock. The following day, McNulty came even closer, second in a reduced sprint behind Paul Lapeira at the Coppa Agostini.

McNulty looking good in his new stripes 😍🌈

Brandon McNulty lines up for his first race since becoming World Champion at the Giro dell’Emilia. https://t.co/k2mdFGK87D

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) October 3, 2026

There were also a few bunch sprints over the weekend, Olav Kooij triumphed in the Munsterland Giro, whilst Jenthe Biermans and Alexys Renard gave Cofidis some late-season joy at the Cholet Agglo Tour and the Tour de Vendee respectively.

Making it look straightforward! ✅

Olav Kooij takes the win at the Sparkassen Münsterland Giro! 🚀 https://t.co/8mu93zpGXA

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) October 3, 2026

And breathe…

Liam’s done some thinking…

> 3 reasons you shouldn’t use a gravel bike for road cycling… and 6 reasons you should