Welcome to Wednesday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Video interview with new cycling minister (and Laura saves him from Mr Whippy); 532-mile race from Aberdeen-Silverstone between e-bike and electric car; neutral service goes bit nuts (literally) in Scotland; Magnus Backstedt to ride RAAM + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Wed, Jun 05, 2019 18:11
SUMMARY
5 June 2019, 18:11
Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates bicycle kick goal with bicycle ride
The Swedish superstar stored a stunning overhead bicycle kick for his team LA Galaxy on Sunday, so naturally here he is posing with bike a couple of days later. Zlatan was quoted as saying this would be one of the wondergoals he’d rather forget, however, as the Galaxy actually lost the game 2-1 to New England Revolution.
5 June 2019, 18:11
Magnus Backstedt announces he will ride the Race Across America next week as part of eight man team
Hmm, so this has crept up on me rather quickly. Off to the RAAM on Saturday. Doing it for a good cause as well. Have a read. https://t.co/IsssbxhGH4
— Magnus Backstedt (@Maggy_PR) June 4, 2019
He kept that one quiet… up until now, as Swedish former pro and the 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt just announced last night that he will compete in the Race Across America (RAAM) next week as part of an eight man team.
Proclaimed as ‘the world’s toughest bicycle race’, RAAM has no stages and sees participants ride 3000 miles across 12 states to complete the course. Both amateurs and pros compete together and you can ride solo or in teams of 2, 4, 6 and 8 (solo riders have to meet qualifying criteria). Backstedt, now a respected coach, bike fitter and cycling commentator, is no stranger to endurance events outside of traditional pro cycling stage races and one day classics, having completed multiple Ironman triathlons since his retirement. He will be riding to raise money for British military charities during his RAAM attempt along with his other seven teammates, and they have already raised nearly £5,000 on their JustGiving page – they’re not just there to make the numbers up either, and are aiming to win the team category in under six days according to the page blurb. Click here to donate to his team’s cause, and click here to find out more about RAAM. It kicks off on Tuesday 11th June.
5 June 2019, 18:11
Josh Dey court case: driver who hit the medical student is facing jail (more to follow)
The car that struck cyclist Josh Dey was driving on the wrong side of the road and hit him with such force it sent the medical student spinning through the air and left him fighting for his life in the middle of the street. He spoke to @ChloeKeedyITV about what happened. pic.twitter.com/UelQ6KjamF
— ITV London (@itvlondon) May 2, 2019
The 22-year-old was struck by 29-year-old Sean Fagan, who was driving on the wrong side of the road as he hit Dey and left the scene. Full story to follow.
5 June 2019, 18:11
The correct way round?
A beg button for drivers?
Not quite, but at this #Delft intersection, cyclists have a continuous green light.
If cars want to cross the cycle track, they must ask for permission by triggering a sensor under the street.
In a perfect world, this would be the standard everywhere. pic.twitter.com/rGk56g3AV5
— Modacity (@modacitylife) June 4, 2019
Drivers have to ‘press’ a button by triggering a sensor in order to get over this intersection in the Netherlands, something we can only dream of in UK cities currently…
5 June 2019, 18:11
Escape to the Pyrenees guest house opens, offering guided tours on road, gravel and the mountains
The new guest house, located in the heart of the heart of the Pyrenees, offers week-long guided tours of some of the most famous/infamous routes that have featured in the Tour de France, plus lesser known gravel and downhill rides if you prefer dirt.
The Escape to the Pyranees Tour de France week runs from 14-21 July, with the chance to watch some of the stages as well as ride the roads yourself, and there is also a mountainous week from 10-17 August and further tours in later August and September. Prices from €1450 for a twin room with everything included for a week, head over to their website for more info.
5 June 2019, 18:11
dhb launch updated Aeron LAB kit
dhb have launched the Aeron Lab Raceline 2.0 kit, developed with input from the Canyon dhb pro team. Visits to the wind tunnel, fit and fabric enhancements have all contributed towards the redesign, with the collection consisting of jerseys (£110), skinsuits (£180) and bib shorts (£130) in men’s and women’s sizes. You can shop the Aeron LAB Raceline 2.0 collection exclusively at Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles now.
5 June 2019, 18:11
Chris Ramsey is currently winning 532 mile showdown with electric car on his VOLT e-bike
Another #Pluginadventure update from the road. The road toward Hinckley is a dream #TheSustainableRace #SupportAlice @rachelburden @bobbyllew @FullyChargedShw @VoltBikesUK @voltbikesPR pic.twitter.com/p1hIpVYtKx
— Plug In Adventures (@pluginadventure) June 5, 2019
Ramsey (not the comedian), who holds the Guinness World Record for being the first to ride an electric vehicle the entire length of the 10,000 mile Mongol Rally, set off on Sunday for the journey between Aberdeen and Silverstone, where he plans to arrive in time for the Fully Charged Live show at the race circuit. He’s currently well in front of his competition in the form of a Renault Twizy, that needs recharging every 50 miles in contrast to the VOLT e-bike, which needs recharging every 60.
Chris was taking a break in Hinckley this morning with plenty of time to spare, and being about 40 miles from Silverstone that means he should be arriving at the finish today. Further updates when we get them.
5 June 2019, 18:11
"Neutral service just isn't what it used to be ... "
Bizarre goings-on involving a near-naked man wielding a bicycle wheel in Renfrew near Glasgow earlier this week …
Neutral service just isn't what it used to be https://t.co/84pYDmbdMA
— Tommy Two-Phones (@140CharTerror) June 5, 2019
I SAID DISC BRAKE AND 12 SPEED YOU USELESS SH…..
— Gibby(@agibby76) June 5, 2019
5 June 2019, 18:11
Laura Laker interviews new minister for cycling, Michael Ellis MP (and saves him from an ice-cream van)
Northampton North MP’s first official engagement was at yesterday’s All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group ride in London.
Michael Ellis MP from ONWARD PRODUCTIONS Ltd on Vimeo.
5 June 2019, 18:11
Absolutely makes sense
Bromptons are almost exclusively useful because of their compactness and how easy they are to fold. So obviously we’re all screaming out for a tallbike version…
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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
chrisonabike 4 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 4 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 5 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 7 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 7 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 8 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 8 hours ago
They may have looked, but did they see?
jackcycles 8 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 9 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 9 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.
4 thoughts on “Live blog: Video interview with new cycling minister (and Laura saves him from Mr Whippy); 532-mile race from Aberdeen-Silverstone between e-bike and electric car; neutral service goes bit nuts (literally) in Scotland; Magnus Backstedt to ride RAAM + more”
At least two vehicles
At least two vehicles appeared to go through that cycle priority junction on red including an HGV.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
The HGV started to turn on green, it’s just obviously slow to get through (and it’s hard to tell sped up).
Why does when the HGV started
Why does when the HGV started its turn have any relevance? It crossed the line on red (you can see frame by frame). It is not ok to run lights on a motor vehicle, regardless of where you start the turn. Amber and red are both stop signals.
Kudos to Michael Ellis MP for
Kudos to Michael Ellis MP for being so positive, and riding without a helmet, but we’ve had all the nice words a thousand times, and they don’t build no cycle routes. Either find the money or shut up. It shouldn’t be too difficult, if the government can spend billions on roads and HS2 with no economic case, surely it’s going to be amazingly easy to find the money to support projects with twenty times those?