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Live blog: Friends of Richmond Park rethink cyclist/deer comment; “We broke his f**king hour record didn’t we?” Victor Campenaerts puzzled by Wiggo suggestion; Memo to Clarkson: London cycleway will actually result in MORE trees; Polite notice +more
SUMMARY

Holland Park Avenue cycleway will result in MORE trees in the area, not fewer
Yesterday, Jeremy Clarkson was among those suggesting that a planned cycleway on Holland Park Avenue in London would see a number of trees chopped down.
A lot of people think this. There’s a ‘save the trees’ petition on change.org.
London’s cycling commissioner, Will Norman, concedes that two big trees will be chopped down – “neither in good condition” – but says that more trees will be planted than will be taken out.
So much #fakenews about Holland Park Ave. WE ARE NOT REMOVING ALL THE TREES. 2 big trees, neither in a good condition, are proposed to be taken out, along with a small number of small trees at Notting Hill Gate. WE’LL PLANT MORE NEW TREES IN THE AREA THAN WE TAKE OUT. pic.twitter.com/ZBnzkkwKS3
— Will Norman (@willnorman) May 22, 2019
Then there’s the whole ‘making the area a bit safer’ aspect on top of that.
There were 128 collisions in last 3 years on this stretch of road. It is dangerous for people walking & cycling. Our plans make busy roads easier & safer to cross, remove through traffic on some residential roads and provide a space for people to cycle in safety. pic.twitter.com/rKRjRJbEHX
— Will Norman (@willnorman) May 22, 2019
Ultracyclist problems
After 3 weeks of dedication to nutrition, I have finally hit fighting weight; 75.5kg. It’s been hard at times, but I’ve managed to put on 4kg! #ultracyclistproblems
— James Hayden (@JamesMarkHayden) May 23, 2019
Dutch rush hour, part 59
Peak hour urban traffic does not have to be dismal.
It can be relaxing and smooth, even with high intensities.
As long as it is human-powered!(~Utrecht by @Streetfilms)pic.twitter.com/5PohWbcSUO
— Cycling Professor (@fietsprofessor) May 22, 2019
Stu Hayes deer crash in Richmond Park - broken pelvis
Bike is fine which is why my pelvis is broken, I think the deer would be in a lot of pain
— MAGIC STU (@StuHayes13) May 22, 2019
We reported on yesterday’s live blog that the triathlete, who competed in the 2012 Olympics, had an unfortunate collision with a deer on Tuesday evening (we’ve already done all the deer puns) and unfortunately it’s resulted in a broken pelvis for Hayes. We’re not sure on the condition of the bike or the deer, but we’re wishing Stuart a speedy recovery.
Today's Giro d'Italia stage is slightly more interesting
Stage 12 | Tappa 12
23 May | 23 maggio
Cuneo – Pinerolo
158 km
Start: 1.10 PM CEST
Finish: 5.15 PM ca CEST
https://t.co/uas5SGJsWD#Giro pic.twitter.com/SOzzOTeXnh— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 23, 2019
New shorts for indoor cycling
File this one under what will they think of next, as Primal Europe has launched “turbo trainer optimised shorts” with its new eSport Bib Short. Check them out in detail here


Good enough for Peter Sagan...
…but good enough for our David? He’s been getting to grips with Sportful’s new Bomber 111 Suit, an aero one-piece garment that helped Peter Sagan to win Paris-Roubaix last year. But will it make David faster? Find out here.
Ted King on racing Belgian Waffle Ride
Here’s a pretty interesting and entertaining video by ex-pro Ted King, now gravel racer and brand ambassador, in preparing for and racing in the recent Belgian Waffle Ride, a 217km race over dirt, gravel, single-track, steep bergs, long climbs, creek crossings, and unrelenting head-winds according to the organisers.
All Tramadol tests negative since painkiller was banned in March
Painkiller had been blamed for crashes in the peloton.
Giro d'Italia marks 70th anniversary of perhaps its greatest ever stage
Today’s Stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia starts in Cuneo and finishes in Pinerolo …. as did, 70 years ago, the most famous one in the race’s history, whenn Fausto Coppi rode away to take the stage and, ultimately, the overall.
This piece on Eurosport by Felix Lowe – aka the TV channel’s cyling blogger, Blazing Saddles – is well worth a read.
... and a somewhat less polite one


Polite notice ...


Campenaerts unimpressed by Wiggins' suggestions that a move to Team Ineos would be beneficial, saying "well we broke his f**king hour record didn't we?"


On Wiggins’ latest podcast, he claimed that Victor Campenaerts would be better off moving to a team like Ineos from Lotto Soudal to get the best out of himself. Wiggins said: “He’s in a Belgian team, the biggest Belgian team (Lotto Soudal, although we’d argue Deceuninck-Quick Step might dispute that) that’s still acting like it’s 1974.
“If he went to Sky (meaning Team Ineos), he’d see the difference. What will happen is that they will offer him loads of money, he’ll sign for three years and he’ll stay there. It’s like you could be so much more, Victor!”
In an interview with Sporza yesterday, Campenaerts admitted he was puzzled by Wiggins’ comments, particularly as he’s yet to sign anything for next season with Lotto Soudal:
“I don’t know anything about this, I’ll have to discuss that with John (Lelangue, the team manager).”
“Well, I’ve obviously just read and seen it, what can I say. He doesn’t seem to understand the workings of our team. We’ve fucking broke his hour record haven’t we?
“They (Lotto Soudal) might appear to be more like a traditional team, however there’s a lot of progress been made when it comes to time trials. Since I’ve arrived and with Kevin de Weert we’ve made big advances. Not only for me but for the whole team and the hour record is proof of this.
The interviewer then asked Campenaerts specifically what he thought of Wiggins’ belief that he has more success in him: “I hope that this is effectively true and I’ll try to get more out of myself. But I think that what I’ve shown thus far has been very promising. If you compare this to the other riders, with the exception of Roglič, it’s been good. And performing like this I can see myself winning against him.”
Campenaerts added that there would be time for contract talks later in the year, and for now he’s simply focussed on the upcoming Giro d’Italia time trial in Verona.
*A huge thanks to Dutch-speaking road.cc readers Jeroen Geut and Elmar Becker for translating the Sporza interview for us!
Video: Trailer for cycling-themed black comedy The Climb + the original short film
The film has been getting positive reviews at Cannes Film Festival.
A few sprinters dropped out of the Giro today
We've waited 12 days… but finally we're in the mountain! #Giro102 pic.twitter.com/BcJst9Delx
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) May 23, 2019
New Ritchey Swiss Cross arrives for testing
We’ve taken to revealing our latest test bikes to land in the office over on Instagram, and the latest bike to be shared is this beauty.
It’s the latest Ritchey Swiss Cross, a classic steel cyclocross race bike which celebrates its 25th birthday and has a number of modernising changes, namely bigger 40mm tyre clearance, flat mount disc brakes and a more relaxed geometry.
View this post on InstagramAbout to get the new Ritchey Swiss Cross all dusty for an upcoming review
A post shared by road.cc (@road.cc) on
Couriers who deliver blood and pathology samples striking over stagnant wages and previous pay cuts
They’ve accused executives and investors of ‘getting fat off NHS contracts’ at their expense.
Jesse Norman no longer a cycling minister
Absolutely delighted to have been appointed Financial Secretary and Paymaster General @hmtreasury. All the more so since it’s 237 years and two months since Edmund Burke was made Paymaster General! 1/
— Jesse Norman (@Jesse_Norman) May 23, 2019
Norman has just been appointed Financial Secretary and Paymaster General for the Treasury. He also said: I have to admit I’m also really sad to be leaving @transportgovuk. So many good people, and so much good work done and to come on road safety, cycling and walking, decarbonisation/Road to Zero, electric vehicles/Future of Mobility, e-cargo bikes, light rail… thank you all.”
Friends of Richmond Park rewrite ‘cyclist learns the hard way’ link to story about Stuart Hayes’ collision with a deer
On yesterday’s live blog, we reported how Olympian Stuart Hayes had been hit by a deer in Richmond Park.
Further down this page, we revealed that the triathlete suffered a broken pelvis in the collision.
Friends of Richmond Park initially reported the incident as, “cyclist learns the hard way that deer are wild animals and therefore unpredictable.”
Very, disappointed that, after someone shatters his pelvis in an accident in #RichmondPark, @FRPTweets describes it as ‘cyclist learns the hard way’.
I can’t quite believe that a body devoted to the enjoyment of the park is quite so callous. pic.twitter.com/FaC9PYFN8O
— Tim Lennon (@lucullus) May 23, 2019
They’ve since had a rethink and edited that.
Giro d'Italia Stage 12: Hail, Cesare!
Benedetti takes win for Bora-Hansgrohe.
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Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn’t especially like cake.
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Latest Comments
Happens on a regular basis - seems to be one of the many exciting new 'features' of the new platform.
@Rendel Harris Thanks for that - every day's a school day. I had actually put 'Pedant mode off' under my comment but it didn't post and then as we all know, and are frustrated with, we can't edit posts any more. I will not correct anyone again - however, -ize still looks too American English for me. Cheers
We also have a greater volume of traffic, including on residential roads which were once quiet. Spending billions on infrastructure such as protected cycle tracks and modal filters is the only thing that will lead to mass cycling. Look at London. Why is there mass cycling there? Infrastructure. The Netherlands? The same reason. And often the only way to achieve meaningful change is reallocating some space and priority from motor vehicles, which is why the government's 'don't scare the horses' attitude is concerning.
You think there might be a clue to that in the name "City Light Set"? Marking it down because it's no good for fast riding on unlit roads seems somewhat akin to buying a micro-hatchback and then complaining that it's rubbish at pulling a plough.
This is like something from a kids' activity book. "The editor has a bit of a hangover this morning. Can you help him match the headline to the correct story?"
@kinderje Are you aware that -ise endings are actually the newer form, having supplanted -ize (as used by Shakespeare, the King James Bible and Jane Austen, amongst many others) in the mid 19th century? Etymologically there is a far better argument for -ize endings for words with Greek and Latin roots than the -ise ending which arose from Victorian publishers imitating French verb endings. Both endings are now regarded as acceptable in British English, although the Oxford style guide recommends -ize. It is most certainly not incorrect.
@Backladder Given that the makers are selling it as being useable on any ride on open roads, it doesn't seem unreasonable to try to test it in those conditions.
'Leasting'? That's a whole 4 letters less.
Although usually the easiest thing of all would be for them just to stop for a few moments while you cycle past them (which requires a lot less space to do safely than them passing you), but most people seem allergic to stopping, even for the briefest time.
@Backladder Oh I think I can guess - the nearest indoor velodrome to road.cc HQ looks to be some distance away in Wales, whereas Odd Down Cycle Track (where this test was conducted) is just 2 miles away.
19 thoughts on “Live blog: Friends of Richmond Park rethink cyclist/deer comment; “We broke his f**king hour record didn’t we?” Victor Campenaerts puzzled by Wiggo suggestion; Memo to Clarkson: London cycleway will actually result in MORE trees; Polite notice +more”
And in other news, Clarkson
And in other news, Clarkson can’t see the wood for the trees.
Brad is being paid
Brad is being paid (presumably a lot) to talk a lot, some will be good and some bollocks.
However, the hour record isn’t particularly a race, it’s not a team thing!
On the other hand, moving to Ineos isn’t neccessarily going to help him either, the rider needs to know the team ambitions align to their own…
alansmurphy wrote:
I listened to the podcast earlier and Wiggins was talking in terms of the attention to detail that Sky showed when he was racing with them – he said that VC’s road bike being in 53×11 and the lack of help from the mechanic cost him the time trial stage, this wouldn’t have happened at a better organised team.
Seemed like a pretty valid point.
“Norman has just been
“Norman has just been appointed Financial Secretary and Paymaster General for the Treasury. He also said: I have to admit I’m also really sad to be leaving @transportgovuk. So many good people, and so much good work done and to come on road safety, cycling and walking, decarbonisation/Road to Zero, electric vehicles/Future of Mobility, e-cargo bikes, light rail… thank you all.””
While I’m sure there must be some tories who aren’t self-deluded, offhand, I can’t think of any.
burtthebike wrote:
I’m just glad that he completed the traffic offences review that was sorely needed.
We beat your fucking hour
We beat your fucking hour record … only by doing it at altitude yah spikey prat, and even then you still couldn’t manage to beat Boardman nor even Rominger’s distance, oh and if you knew anything about BW’s attempt you’d have noticed he wasn’t all out, you don’t claimb off the bike the way Wiggins did when you’re totally spent, ask Chris Boardman about that when he did his.
Please, people-if there’s an
Please, people-if there’s an unrestrained animal or child who could possibly cross your path under any circumstances,slow to a walking pace.Stop if necessary.It’s not rocket science.
Argus Tuft wrote:
OTOH…
HC Rule 56: Dogs.
Do not let a dog out on the road on its own. Keep it on a short lead when walking on the pavement, road or path shared with cyclists or horse riders.
(Admittedly, I don’t think anyone’s taught the HC to wild animals. Yet.)
Argus Tuft wrote:
Please, people, stop offering unasked-for advice to strangers. Particularly don’t do it based on one incident involving serious injury to someone who likely isn’t even reading the thread anyway and where we don’t know for sure to what degree he was aware of the deer and who quite likely just made a mistake as fallible humans can do occasionally. Such unsolicited advice comes over as condescending and a form of self-praise on the part of the person giving it.
I don’t see the point in after-the-event advice that boils down to ‘in future, don’t make mistakes’. Like a family member’s invariable comment whenever I mislay anything ‘in future always remember where you put things’.
FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:
The chap in question doesn’t need my advice.He learned the hard way!
The “Friends” of Richmond
The “Friends” of Richmond Park have always been utter scum.
After the tamsin trail was built they decided they hated cyclists and wanted to ban them from it, until it was pointed out it was funded with cycling money and they would have to pay every penny back. They shut their trap suddenly.
Has anyone read the FoRP feed
Has anyone read the FoRP feed, full of the usual anti-cyclist bile from NIMBY’s. According to the posters all cyclists exceed the 20mph limit but no mention of cars. Hmmmm!
Gus T wrote:
Plenty of mentions of cars now.
Has anyone read the FoRP feed
Has anyone read the FoRP feed, full of the usual anti-cyclist bile from NIMBY’s. According to the posters all cyclists exceed the 20mph limit but no mention of cars. Hmmmm!
Whoops – double post
So FoRP edited, did Fb tell
So FoRP edited, did Fb tell them off for hate speech? I flagged it for that.
Don’t read their Fb comments it’s all speed limits, road tax, the usual stuff from Chelsea tractor drivers walking their Fentons, scaring the deer into the roads.
I’m going to climb down from
I’m going to climb down from my high horse.I’ve been wandering around trying to think of the last really stupid thing I did on a bike.I’d completely forgotten about it.
Three years ago I was steaming downhill through long grass on my new hardtail when the front wheel dropped into an axle deep hole.I was thrown through the air and landed on my head, knocking me unconscious,tearing some neck muscles in the process.As close to becoming a paraplegic as I’d like to come.If a 60 something rider with a lifetime of experience (albeit very little on a MTB)can make such an obvious mistake-you know the rest.I wish the young rider concerned a complete recovery,and apologise for being judgemental.
I’ve NEVER again ridden fast when unable to see the ground.
So-Please,people-be extra careful when riding through long grass!
Argus Tuft wrote:
Please, people. Be careful when climbing down from a high horse.
Quote:
Well, gosh, I bet the Govt’s going to be in a real hurry to appoint someone else in his place…
Mungey,You’ve made my night.I
Mungey,You’ve made my night.I’m still chuckling.Cheers