Welcome to your midweek live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the road.cc team.
Live blog: Jess Varnish loses employment tribunal case, Wiggo does 10 year challenge… like a fine wine; West Mids cop does close pass challenge; More Campag 12-spd; Yorkshire UCI Road Worlds sportive; new Rapha shoes?; Sound of 80km/h on a bike + more
All today’s cycling news from the site and beyond…
Wed, Jan 16, 2019 18:43
SUMMARY
16 January 2019, 18:43
Jeremy Vine films couple's charming ride through London
Up ahead of me this morning, a young couple on a romantic bike ride through the West End. pic.twitter.com/B1KKwAxpc6
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) January 14, 2019
Britain’s foremost cycling-friendly broadcaster caught this on his action cam during the morning commute.
16 January 2019, 18:43
West Midlands Police carry out Operation Close Pass in full uniform... and are still close passed
#OpClosePass…just to prove that with some drivers it really doesn’t matter who you are or what you’re wearing PC Hodson, was on the receiving end of this #closepass into oncoming traffic whilst testing this #ebike in full uniform, in Sutton Coldfield, driver reported #S3RTA1988 pic.twitter.com/Iq6c9UXSep
— West Midlands Police Road Harm Reduction Team (@WMPRHRT) January 15, 2019
The West Midlands Police reported in this Twitter post that the officer was even beeped at by one driver who said he “shouldn’t be in the middle of the road” – to which they said the evidence will be “interesting in court”. WMP also caught plenty of driver’s failing to stop at crossings for pedestrians.
16 January 2019, 18:43
Bradley Wiggins reveals the toll athletic endeavours have taken on his appearance
The Ten Year Challenge has been sweeping social media recently, and Wiggo decided to get in on the act… What can we say, it’s tougher at the top than it looks.
16 January 2019, 18:43
Tour Down Under Stage 2 highlights
Another shortened stage because of the heat – it’s been 42° in Adelaide this week – and another flat one for the sprinters. Could Elia Viviani make it two from two? Find out below…
16 January 2019, 18:43
The sound of 80 Km/h on a bike… Brilliant, but also pretty terrifying..
What does 80+km/h sound like? Listen to this as we track the speeds with @garminAU Race Stats #TourDownUnder pic.twitter.com/L4aaRf1tAa
— Santos Tour Down Under (@tourdownunder) January 16, 2019
Ever wondered what a peloton sounds like coming past at over 80km/h? Check out this hairy clip from the Tour Down Under…
16 January 2019, 18:43
New Rapha shoes?
These were spotted on the feet of Lachlan Morton at the Tour Down Under. They don’t come with a tear on them as far as we know, and those laces are very unusual. If they’re definitely a thing, we’ll be keen to see the production versions… Although, as Harrogate Spa points out in the comments below the most likely explanation is that the shoes have been deliberately slit at the sides because they are too narrow and the laces have been done up like that because the shoes don’t fit. So maybe not a new thing after all. No doubt we’ll find out soon enough.
16 January 2019, 18:43
Vittoria Bussi's record-breaking hour captured in new video
Bussi’s helmet and clothing sponsor Endura have just released this video showing how she broke the women’s UCI hour record back in October.
16 January 2019, 18:43
Wilier's full carbon Jena gravel bike now available to buy
The Jena was launched in late 2018, and you can now get your hands on one at your nearest dealer or various online shops. Designed with Wilier’s racing-comfort geometry, the Jena is supposed to be easy-handling and reactive and adaptable to multiple types of riding. A slacker head tube angle and a rear triangle optimised to absorb shock add to the comfort, and tyre clearance is up to 44mm on a 700c wheel and up to 48mm on a 650b. 12mm thru-axles and a removable front derailleur bracket to run 1x completes the package – head over to Wilier’s website for more info.
Jena / Free to choose from Wilier Triestina on Vimeo.
16 January 2019, 18:43
Sportive launched as part of 2019 Road World Championships, with 5,000 set to take part in Yorkshire
In what could be the most highly anticipated sportive of 2019, the Human Race have today officially announced a mass participation ride will take place before the pro world champs on the 22nd September 2019. Starting and finishing in Harrogate, the course will take in the Yorkshire Dales and will give cyclists the chance to ride the same route as the pros before they battle it out for the world title.
A big demand is expected for the 5,000 tickets, and a ballot will open on the 4th March. You can register your interest now on the official event website, and if you’re ballot entry is successful ticket allocation will be on the 20th March. There are three routes to choose from, with the longest at 145km, the middle diatance at 98km and the short route 72km.
It’s the first time the worlds have taken place in the UK for 37 years, therefore this sportive could be a “once in a lifetime opportunity” according to Human Race CEO Nick Rusling.
16 January 2019, 18:43
Storck now selling direct in the UK with new website
It’s now a whole lot easier to get hold of a Storck bike in Blighty, as the German brand have just launched their UK website, selling directly. The full range is stocked, and you can make orders from tomorrow – click here to have a look.
16 January 2019, 18:43
Cycle route on Wigan's busiest junction opened by Chris Boardman
Non brexit good news!
Cycling and walking scheme, to get people travelling without cars seamlessly across the busiest junction in Wigan, Saddle Junction, now open for business! Well done @Wigancouncil and @OfficialTfGM superb job we are on our way! pic.twitter.com/EHbR0RCwTF
— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) January 16, 2019
The vision of Greater Manchester’s Cycling and Walking Commissioner is slowly being realised, with this new cycle scheme in Wigan now up and running.
16 January 2019, 18:43
No.
Some say they can see Paul McCartney in this pothole.. can you?https://t.co/cepJOoyT3a@PaulMcCartney
— Lancashire Post (@leponline) January 15, 2019
Made us think of this for some reason…
16 January 2019, 18:43
It's never too late to start riding...
⠀
No limits
⠀ pic.twitter.com/84OvqcEDMc— ⓑιcιcletⓞ (@Bicicleto_ZGZ) January 14, 2019
16 January 2019, 18:43
What's he pointing at? Yet another Campag Super Record EPS 12-spd sighting
There’s no escaping Campagnolo’s 12 cog at the moment. This time it’s courtesy of Campagnolo and UAE Team Emirates – at the Santos Tour Down Under. Shouldn’t he really be pointing at the bike? Anyway at this rate there isn’t going to be much point in Jack going to the official launch in a few weeks… only joking Jack.
16 January 2019, 18:43
Jess Varnish loses employment tribunal case against British Cycling
Jess Varnish, the former Olympic track sprinter, has lost her employment tribunal case in which she was seeking to prove that she was an employee of British Cycling and UK Sport at the time she was a funded athlete, rather than an independent contractor.
Sky Sports News reports that a short statement issued this evening by her management, which said: “Judgement was received at 1700 today and it has been found that Jess Varnish was neither an employee or a worker of either British Cycling or UK Sport.”
Had Varnish, who is due to give birth to her first child this week, won the case, she would have been free to pursue a claim for unfair dismissal in relation to being dropped from the Olympic Podium Programme in 2016.
A decision in her favour had been expected to have profound implications for the way Olympic athletes across all sports are funded.
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Jack is group editor across road.cc, off.road.cc and ebiketips, overseeing all three sites in the F-At Digital group to make sure everything’s up to scratch. He’s been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of road.cc including tech, news and video, and also contributed to eBikeTips before being named editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town, and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master’s degree in print journalism, and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it’s a long story).
11 Comments
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Latest Comments
chrisonabike 8 hours ago
"All that's required is an to roads policing" - that's a big all... Although no doubt the "idiots just keep coming" aspect does apply: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz9lel2wz93o "Man charged after car crashes through bowling alley" - luckily they only skittled over skittles.
chrisonabike 8 hours ago
Almost any change to roads and streets is accompanied by a period of heightened danger, and in the UK "look out for cyclists" will need to be learned... practically. And over the time it takes for cyclists to become a regular feature. OTOH once (if...) good designs are in and frequent enough such that drivers encounter them AND the cyclists on them regularly (another big if) I don't think they should be much more difficult than a footway to deal with. These things are all over NL - don't have the collision stats but they should. (NL isn't perfect but collecting info on the safety of designs to feed back into better designs as required is part of the "sustainable safety" philosophy - if they're really a killer I think they'd be altering these.)
wtjs 9 hours ago
I'm in the happy position of agreeing with everybody here! I've never considered a bike with a stand, yet I'm impressed by the ingenuity and adaptability of this axle. I tow a Yak Bob with a Robert Axle, employing my El Cheapo Vitus gravel bike and I just have to be very careful where I stop. Hedges are generally a dead loss, and I seek walls, telegraph poles and signposts and generally lean the widest part of the Bob against it. One very awkward task is removing the two steel pins which lock the trailer arms onto the special mounting slots on the Robert axle, and when you have one out, the sodding weight in the trailer can twist the whole caboodle and bend the Bob fitting before you can get the other out and unhitch. I doubt if a stand would help with that. You can imagine that this combo is a real pain when you have to get it over the bridge at railway stations, and it nearly resulted in Merseyrail nearly parting me and the trailer on the platform from the bike on the train. It's a long story for another time. Another axle example recently featured on here, with a 12mm front axle bearing the Herculean weight limit of a monster American front rack.
HoarseMann 11 hours ago
This has nothing to do with the type of bike - it's the type of behaviour that's the problem. Banning the sale of such bikes will not curtail the behaviour. They'll just find another type of vehicle and continue to drive dangerously as there's such a lack of enforcement. I'd sooner see them ban the bally. But really, all that's required is an improvement to roads policing.
AidanR 11 hours ago
The EAPC Bill is welcome, but full of holes. What's to stop an overpowered but temporarily limited e-bike being sold and subsequently delimited? This is often a trivial process.
Sredlums 12 hours ago
@KiwiMike Yeah, in my over four decades of riding all over Europe I've never 'been for a ride in the countryside'. That must be it. Or, and I know this is a wild concept, you just accept that I just voiced my personal experiences and never missed a kickstand, like I wrote. Anyway, what's the big horror of laying your bike on its side for the very few occasions where there is nothing to lean your bike against?
mdavidford 12 hours ago
They may have looked, but did they see?
jackcycles 12 hours ago
Ds2025: where they are going wrong is that they are crushing the motorbike rather than the person sat on top of it. If they did the latter this issue would be solved in less than 24 hours.
Rod Marton 12 hours ago
I came this way today with the car boot sale in operation. There was a marshal at the entrance, who stopped a car turning right across the cycleway as I was approaching. So that certainly works. I think it necessary for the marshal to be there, I couldn't say if the driver would have turned if he hadn't been there but you always have to suspect the worst. Unfortunately there is no marshal at the exit, and there was certainly a car stopped across the cycleway as I was approaching it. But he pulled onto the road before I reached it, and the following car stayed off the cycleway as I went through. Ideally there should have been a marshal there too. On the whole, though, it's a really high standard piece of infrastructure. Just a pity it doesn't extend a bit further.
eburtthebike 13 hours ago
“absolute carnage” So right! Just look at the bodies piled up, blood running in the gutters and injured people limping away. It's a bit of a problem with a road, delaying some people for minutes at a time: it isn't carnage, let alone 'absolute carnage'. Anyone who exaggerates so ridiculously really shouldn't be allowed to comment in public, unless they want to demonstrate their idiocy to all and sundry.
11 thoughts on “Live blog: Jess Varnish loses employment tribunal case, Wiggo does 10 year challenge… like a fine wine; West Mids cop does close pass challenge; More Campag 12-spd; Yorkshire UCI Road Worlds sportive; new Rapha shoes?; Sound of 80km/h on a bike + more”
Jeez – if plod in full
Jeez – if plod in full uniform are being close-passed then we are well and truly knackered.
Kendalred wrote:
Indeed. A driver who not only close passes (to whom you might give the benefit of the doubt and say they are simply incompetent or ignorant) but actually beeps at a policeman and criticises them shows a whole new level of stupidity and aggression.
Kendalred wrote:
Maybe the motorist though it was a ‘POLITE NOTICE.’
Some drivers (generally
Some drivers (generally gammons) really do not give an actual about how dangerous it can be.
I had to take a lane to avoiding some rather extreme pot holes this morning and some old gammon insisted on squeezing past despite standing traffic 50m ahead. Politely (it was hard) asked him why so close and didn’t he see the potholes, his reply…… “yes he saw them and he hopes I die”.
Probably still angry over brexit.
Least I know what to do now
Least I know what to do now to get my videos of close passes looked into, application for police force in the post.
These drivers must have
These drivers must have thought they were in west sussex or gloucestershire
hirsute wrote:
or Cheshire perhaps?
It doesn’t really matter
It doesn’t really matter whether the cyclist is a policeman or not, because the British driver knows that the sanction is going to be relatively light. In no other sphere of life of which I’m aware, can you in effect deliberately (or negligently) come within inches of killing another person (or crippling him or her for life), and still expect to receive a £100 fine.
The oft-cited example is to compare what would happen to you if you indiscriminately fired a handgun into the crowd, whilst walking down Oxford Street. The drivers’ rebuttal is that firearms are illegal in the UK whilst cars are not, and also, that the purpose of a firearm is in fact to kill, unlike motor vehicles.
Well, quite. So let’s take the example of an object that is not designed to kill, the ownership or possession of which is entirely legal. I dunno.. a frozen turkey. Buy a turkey, walk down the street swinging it above your head, yelling at people to get out of the way. What will happen? You will be arrested, make the front papers of probably every tabloid in the country, and will receive either a hefty fine, or else a short custodial sentence. If you actually hit and injure someone, that time spent at Her Majesty’s pleasure will be appropriately lengthened.
Only in the context of the motor car, is the offender dealt with, with such indulgence.
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
Bloody whingeing cyclists! Look, we’ve promised you a thorough review of road law, in 2014, and we’ve actually done the bit about blaming cyclists, so just shut up will you.
Those shoes don’t fit
Those shoes don’t fit properly, so he has deliberately cut them at the point where they are too narrow. I’ve done the same to my cycling shoes. He’s added the laces to try to keep a tight fit.
Now they know how many
Now they know how many potholes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.