Welcome to Wednesday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Team Ineos to debut at Tour de Romandie in one-off kit; Wiggo does classy; Women’s Paris Roubaix – World champ Anna van der Breggen makes the case, Near miss* – the pro race edition; Happy hour – the drinks are on Victor + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Wed, Apr 17, 2019 17:34
0
SUMMARY
17 April 2019, 17:34
Specialized makes compelling case for Women's Paris-Roubaix
At the launch of its latest Roubaix model last week, US bike brand Specialized also unveiled a women’s version of the bike – and in a video (see above) enlisted the help of world champion Anna van der Breggen and her Boels-Dolmans team mates Christian Majures and Chantal Blaak to make a compelling case for why there should be a women’s version of the race, showing the trio riding through the Arenberg sector of pavé.
As Specialized says at the end of the video, “The Roubaix is no longer just for men. The race shouldn’t be either.”
There are already under-23 and junior versions of the race for male riders – so why not one for elite women too? What do you think?
17 April 2019, 17:34
Don't worry Victor, we still remember
Victor Campenaerts has gone to great lengths to not be remembered as “that bloke who asked a girl out with a chest message in a time-trial.” pic.twitter.com/8qi8aPXpGg
— Andy McGrath (@Andymcgra) April 16, 2019
Campenaerts’ heroics in the velodrome yesterday may have almost banished the memories of when he asked a girl out on a date at the end of a Giro d’Italia time trial by displaying the request on his chest, for which he was fined 100 euros… but fear not, here’s the story from 2017 just in case you’d forgotten!
17 April 2019, 17:34
"Free beer all night long": Campenaerts plans to treat his fans to celebrate Hour Record success
Skip to 1:26:45-ish in the live stream, and Victor appears to offer a free night’s drinking at his local bar back in Antwerp, Cafe Mombasa in the district of Borgerhout. He says: “In Borgerhout, at my fan cafe (Cafe Mombasa) all my fans can drink free beer all night. And if you’re not a fan, you an still become a fan! All night, free beer. Enjoy.”
We might have to make a pilgrimage. If you want to read the full report of how Campenaerts smashed the record click here, to see his history-making bike in more detail head here.
17 April 2019, 17:34
David rides new Specialized Roubaix 2020
David has just got back from Belgium where he’s been riding the brand new 2020 Specialized S-Works Roubaix on the cobbled roads it was designed to tame and conquer, check out his first ride impressions in the video below. If you missed the launch fanfare, here’s everything you need to know about the new Roubaix.
17 April 2019, 17:34
Calorie counting for easter weekend
We hot cross buns! So here’s a tasty fact of the day: One hot cross bun will give you fuel for 22 minutes of cycling. Yum! pic.twitter.com/0A2ehihWS8
— Sustrans (@sustrans) April 17, 2019
How much to burn off a couple of easter eggs as well?
17 April 2019, 17:34
Watch how Giovanni Battaglin builds a steel frame
Giovanni Battaglin, winner of the Giro and Vuelta in 1981, turned his attention to building bikes the following year, and is still going strong today. In a new video series the Italian company is allowing you to go behind-the-scenes to see how a frame is made from start to finish. See more here.
17 April 2019, 17:34
Classy from Sir Brad
Chapeau Victor my man
— Brad Wiggins (@SirWiggo) April 16, 2019
Many are asking the question of how much advantage was gained by Campenaerts breaking the Hour Record at 1,800m of altitude – but Bradley Wiggins has suggested in his podcast (and in this tweet) that he has nothing but praise for his successor. What would Campenaerts have done at sea level? We might never know, but will try to investigate with some expert help over the next few days.
17 April 2019, 17:34
Team Ineos to make ddebut at Tour de Romandie on 30 April - in one-off jersey
Team Ineos will make their debut at the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland on 30 April – and will be wearing a one-off jersey, according to organisers of the Swiss race.
The takeover of Team Sky’s management company, and sponsorship, by the petrochemicals group is due to take effect from 1 May and it had been announced that the new kit would be unveiled at the Tour de Yorkshire, where Chris Froome is racing.
In a tweet, however, organisers of the Tour de Romandie confirmed that Geraint Thomas and co will race for the first time as Team Ineos in the race, which runs from 30 April to 5 May.
The tweet reads: “Breaking news. Team Sky will take to tthe start of the #TDR2019 in the colours of Ineos. A unique jersey that you will only see on the #TDR2019!”
They also tweeted an image of the jersey as part of the provisional start list, as shown in the image above.
@TeamSky prendra le départ du #TDR2019 sous les couleurs d’ @INEOS. Un maillot unique que l’on ne verra que sur le #TDR2019!
— Tour de Romandie (@TourDeRomandie) April 17, 2019
17 April 2019, 17:34
Sam Bennett doubles up at Tour of Turkey
Double trouble!
@Sammmy_Be takes another amazing stage win while teammate @gro_felix finishes second!! #teamworkmakesthedreamwork amazing teamwork! pic.twitter.com/vSBU2HEGDL— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) April 17, 2019
The Irishman has taken both of the opening stages at the Presidential Tour of Turkey, winning an uphill sprint finish on day two. The comeback from illness for Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) isn’t going to plan at the moment, finishing 22nd on stage 1 and 94th today.
17 April 2019, 17:34
Near Miss: Pro edition
It’s hard enough to get in a breakaway as it is. It’s even harder when the race motorbikes get involved.
Luckily Liane Lippert has good bike handling skills.
When you’re trying to escape from the peleton but the motor driver doesn’t like you #BPwomen #BP #BP19 pic.twitter.com/aGkfUIkUY2
— Jesse Abeloos (@JesseAbeloos) April 17, 2019
*interestingly since we posted this earlier today the tweet and accompanying video off the moto veering in to Liane Lippert’s path has been taken down.
17 April 2019, 17:34
Specialized makes compelling case for Women's Paris-Roubaix
At the launch of its latest Roubaix model last week, US bike brand Specialized also unveiled a women’s version of the bike – and in a video (see above) enlisted the help of world champion Anna van der Breggen and her Boels-Dolmans team mates Christian Majures and Chantal Blaak to make a compelling case for why there should be a women’s version of the race, showing the trio riding through the Arenberg sector of pavé.
As Specialized says at the end of the video, “The Roubaix is no longer just for men. The race shouldn’t be either.”
There are already under-23 and junior versions of the race for male riders – so why not one for elite women too? What do you think?
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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).
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Latest Comments
Mr Blackbird 31 minutes ago
Yes I do the same. Slow down and cover brakes whenever near a refuse lorry, bus, school collection / drop off areas, takeaway outlets. Presumably the worker would have received training in how to behave around traffic. It was indeed a rubbish manoeuvre.
Boopop 42 minutes ago
It definitely was a dumb move from a worker, but I'm always covering the brakes anyway when passing a bin lorry - especially if I'm overtaking traffic waiting to pass while I can squeeze through. They're like school buses, there's a strong chance someone will suddenly cross the road from behind the truck. Good job by Mark anyway, I'd usually expect people to walk across the road, not run/roll!
eburtthebike 3 hours ago
@Mr Blackbird And the evidence that Spalding BID are a wunch of bankers is overwhelming.
eburtthebike 3 hours ago
@IanMK Many years ago, HSE decided that cycle helmets were not PPE. Not sure if their position has changed since then.
eburtthebike 3 hours ago
@Rendel Harris Thanks for digging all that up. That link is of the 'this is the answer, now put it in your own words' variety. As for Spalding BID, this is interesting: "Spalding BID Ltd is a registered company with a Board of Directors who volunteer their time to provide performance monitoring and strategic oversight of the delivery of Spalding BID Improvement Plan. Its Directors must be members of the registered company and in general appointed because they are business owners, business partners or have another vested interest in the town. It is important to note that Spalding BID Ltd is an independent company which is not owned, governed or operated by South Holland District Council." It raises £170k/year by taxing local businesses, which as you point out, they can't avoid, and they can't vote them out until 2029. "Spalding BID 5-year term of operation runs from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2029, after which businesses will be invited to take part in a new ballot to determine whether Spalding BID will run for a further 5-year term." I got curious about what exactly BIDs are so I googled and found some stuff, amongst which the ballot information was particularly interesting: "The Ballot Process • Postal Vote: Ballots are conducted entirely by post via the local authority's returning officer. • Dual Majority: Approval requires a simple majority of those who vote, and a majority of those votes must represent a majority of the aggregate rateable value."
tomlew 3 hours ago
I imagine the 105,000 figure is the estimate for the top of high season., not the number of full-time jobs. The trouble with this job is that you are overworked for 4 months a year and then don't always work enough to stay in the black for the other 8. So many mechanics may need another job for the rest of the year, but then they can't keep up to date with the industry. Catch 22.
chrisonabike 3 hours ago
@Rendel Harris hmm... wonder if this organisation has received some journalistic attention? It could just be wording but yeah that reads "we've decided x, now let's come up with 'evidence' to prove that..."
Rome73 3 hours ago
@Rendel Harris do you think they got any evidence - or was it just anecdote?
Smoggysteve 4 hours ago
@Chris RideFar I think because the over complexity of what bikes have become over the last decade it puts off many who may of been prepared to service their own bikes in the past but are now not so confident. Disc brakes are the obvious one for me. Its no longer a simple task of swapping a brake cable and putting in new pads, there is the bleeding, cutting of hoses, fitting barbs etc, its 3 new tools just for that 1 job if your needing to replace the parts. Even bleeding alone put off many, cos if you mess it up youre left without functioning brakes. a simple cable pull is easy to see and understand. hydraulics can be poor but you dont know until you come to use it and it can just fade and become spongy mid ride. Thats before we get into internal routing, headsets, the million and 1 different BB standards etc.
IanMK 5 hours ago
@eburtthebike I'd be genuinely surprised if this didn't fall under the remit of the HSE and they hadn't done an investigation. Imagine if a forklift hit a cyclist on a large industrial site. Having said that, although the HSE are unlikely to give specific advice, the 'staff are encouraged to wear helmets' doesn't sound like the outcome of a competent risk assessment.