Met road safety cop to review stop & search of Black Cyclists Network founder; Eastbourne cycling group slam town centre scheme; Deceuninck-Quick Step 2019 video; Brailsford on CEO role of Kipchoge’s sub-2 hour marathon + more on live blog

600 consecutive days for Deceuninck – Quick-Step at the top of the UCI World Team Classification!
Congratulations to everyone involved – riders, staff, sponsors, and fans – this truly is an amazing achievement!
Photo: @GettySport pic.twitter.com/ocYKt6adNw

— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) November 18, 2019

The ‘Wolfpack’ have been the number 1-ranked UCI World Tour Team for almost two years straight now. 

A disused railway line spanning 25 miles across Herefordshire & Worcestershire could become a major tourist attraction for cyclists & walkers. The trail would run along the old line between Worcester & Leominster. pic.twitter.com/FU2XWPy803

— BBC H and W (@bbchw) November 19, 2019

The photo from BBC Hereford and Worcester isn’t really selling it, but apparently this railway line could become a new 25 mile cycling and walking trail. 

Work to improve notorious Greenwich roundabout and approaches for cyclists which was due to begin now has been delayed yet further. Latest in long line of delays or cancellations https://t.co/90TxjoPIFU

— Murky Depths (@TheMurkyDepths) November 18, 2019

From the Murky Depths report that work to make a segregated cycle lane at the Angerstein roundabout in Greenwich have been pushed back until 15th January 2020 – it was due to start this month.  

The most recent fatality on the roundabout was in May 2018, reportedly occurring after Mayor Sadiq Khan removed safety improvement plans for the junction which would have seen it incorporated into Cycle Superhighway 4. 

Yay! https://t.co/HJ0XjRVOKM

— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) November 18, 2019

The brainchild of Cycling and Walking Commissioner Chris Boardman, the Bee Network will be a fully joined up, 1,800 mile network of segregated cycle lanes, wider pavements and safe junctions – and it appears that work has now started to make it a reality. 

It was proposed by Boardman in his Made to Move report for the Mayor, a 15-step plan “to transform Greater Manchester” – and received unanimous approval from the ten district leaders in the region. If and when the whole Bee Network is completed, Greater Manchester will become the first city region in the UK to have a fully joined up cycling and walking network, and it will also be the most extensive in the country. 

At £398, Halfords claim the Assist Deluxe with 20″ wheels is the UK’s most affordable electric bike – full story to come over on eBikeTips, where you can now leave comments easily thanks to our brand spanking new single sign-on functionality! 

So you don’t have to faff around making new accounts for all of our sister sites, your road.cc account will now allow you access to off.road.cc, eBikeTips and Dealclincher too for quick and easy extra liking and commenting powers. Read more here. 

Italian sibling design team 2Bros (no relation to the 80’s pop stars-turned documentary meme sensations) have added their funky and loud patterns to Castelli’s latest jersey, with a colourful geometric print front and back. It’s priced at €84.95 and is available on Castelli’s website now. 

This is so important and one of many reasons why I’m so pleased @EBackstedt6 signed for @TrekSegafredo

Concussion is overlooked so often!!! https://t.co/57EsnVljpS

— Magnus Backstedt (@Maggy_PR) November 18, 2019

The World Tour team have partnered with HeadCheck Health to offer the company’s concussion assessment tool to riders. Using evidence-based science and smartphone technology with cycling-specific modifications, Trek-Segafredo say the tool will allow their medical staff to rapidly and accurately assess concussions as well as track rider recovery.

In October, four medical professional used HeadCheck to assess all the Trek-Segafredo riders, and they can now use this data as a baseline to check for concussions if a suspected head injury occurs in training or racing. Staff can access headCheck data from their phones and respond immediately with the best course of action, comparing results to the baseline data.  

Trek-Segafredo Head Doctor Nino Daniele said: “This is a very powerful tool. Now we can easily and accurately measure when it is safe for an athlete to continue riding after a concussion.”

HeadCheck is already used by football, rugby and hockey teams amongst other sports, and Trek-Segafredo worked extensively with HeadCheck to adapt the tool for cycling. They already supply tools and support for Trek Factory Racing’s Downhill, Cross-Country, and Enduro teams.

Daniele Bennati (39) calls time on 18-year pro career, during which he won over 50 races, including 11 Grand Tour stages.

— CafeRoubaix (@CafeRoubaix) November 19, 2019

The veteran Italian sprinter has called time on a long and successful career.

If you have a carbon wheelset that’s the same weight as an alloy one but the alloy one is half the price. What extra will you get from the carbon ones for twice the money? Genuine question, as I’m looking into some new wheels to buy next spring ish… hopefully.

— Rich Mitch (@rich_mitch) November 19, 2019

Rich Mitch asked this one over on Twitter. Obviously you can get some aero benefits, but what else is better about carbon hoops? Enough to justify the price?

Let us know in the comments below.

#People: Plusieurs centaines d’anonymes, mais aussi d’anciennes gloires du cyclisme comme Bernard #Hinault ou Bernard #Thévenet ont assistés dans le village de Saint-Léonard de Noblat aux obsèques de Raymond #Poulidor, mort Mercredi à l’âge de 83 ans. (AFP) pic.twitter.com/SXlpnraAmv

— FranceNews24 (@FranceNews24) November 19, 2019

Bernard Hinault and Bernard Thévenet have joined mourners in giving a final send-off to French cycling legend Raymond Poulidor, who passed away last week at the age of 83. The ceremony is taking place at Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat in the region where Poulidor was born. His grandson Mathieu van der Poel is also in attendance. 

Un dernier hommage était rendu ce mardi à Raymond Poulidor, décédé mercredi à 83 ans, dans sa commune de Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat en présence de nombreuses personnalités.

Les obsèques en images > https://t.co/JtZfmZw54n pic.twitter.com/xj0M5GVEyr

— L’ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) November 19, 2019

We are so sorry this happened @BCNtweet. The benefits of cycling should be available equally to all, but those from BAME communities face barriers to taking up cycling others don’t. Please @metpoliceuk, don’t add to the barriers already facing people who cycle or want to. https://t.co/4x6OOBmfYa

— London Cycling Campaign (@london_cycling) November 19, 2019

This is appalling. https://t.co/NpWSK6Mnjd

— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) November 19, 2019

Basically sounds like the officer felt he had his pride hurt by the cyclist not complying with his absurd instruction to reverse the bike into a blind spot, and used a s&s to regain his sense of power. He has undermined the Met and all his colleges. Hope @metpoliceuk take action!

— Rob Smith (@robsmith87) November 19, 2019

Our story yesterday detailing how Mani Arthur was stopped and searched by a Metropolitan Police officer because he claimed he could “smell marijuana on him” has been met with a general outpouring of shock and disappointment. We’ll be looking to follow up in the coming days if necessary. 

@EliudKipchoge
Sir Dave Brailsford
Valentijn Trouw
@RobbyKetchell
@BBCSport spoke to several of the key team-members involved in #INEOS159 to find out exactly how history was made
https://t.co/TG9f8WKwXv

— INEOS 1:59 Challenge (@INEOS159) November 19, 2019

Brailsford spoke to the BBC as part of a fascinating feature about the finer details of Kipchoge’s successful sub-two hour attempt in Vienna last month, saying he took on the role as CEO of the attempt in April even though he’d just been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

He said: “It was a real deep dive. This sounds a bit geekish but I read quite a lot about how you can educate yourself quickly and learn fast.

“I found out that I’d got cancer around March, which I wasn’t expecting. When Jim asked me it was kind of ‘take a deep breath’ because this is going to be a lot of time and commitment. What was exciting about it was that I’m normally involved in trying to win races or winning Olympic medals. But this felt like a fairly unique opportunity. First of all it was in a different sport, which was really appealing, and it was a landmark in making history rather than just winning a race.

“I worked really, really hard on it from April time onwards. Through June, through the Tour de France. I look back now and think I was ridiculous, I really do. I behaved in a ridiculous way – it’s quite embarrassing really looking back.”

On the subject of Kipchoge’s carbon-injected Nike shoes – that some have claimed offered Kipchoge an advantage that was too great – Brailsford said: “Show me a world-class team that hasn’t got a sports science department. I don’t know what sport they are watching. Rugby, World Cup football, Formula 1, any kind of human endeavour everyone is using sports science. You wouldn’t win without it.”

Finally he reflected on the historic day on 12th October, when Kipchoge crossed the line in a time of 1:59:40: “I really did try and absorb it because when you are told you have got cancer and you don’t know what’s going to happen it does make you change your perspective and you do realise you should live a bit more for the day.

“I am always thinking of the next thing and the next thing and the next thing so I did sit down and think: ‘Wow, I’m so proud to have been involved in that.’ It was just sensational. I’ll never forget it. The way he ran down the last kilometre… we had three or four options for the final depending on how Eliud was feeling and he came in in our best scenario. It was perfect.”

Quick-Step notched up 68 victories in 2019, and there was also a memorable two weeks for Julian Alaphilippe in the Yellow Jersey. Take a look at their season recap above.  

@GCraughwell joined @IBIKEDublin to experience what it is like for cyclists on a daily basis. He spoke to @PatKennyNT about he got on: https://t.co/yXWk31IIKa pic.twitter.com/TsWrQTuBJc

— Newstalk (@NewstalkFM) November 19, 2019

The Irish politician who took on a challenge to go for a ride after being questioned on an anti-cycling Tweet has spoken to Newstalk FM about his experience on camera. He said it’s already changed his driving habits, and commented: If we’re serious about moving the capital (Dublin) away from fossil fuel-burning vehicles, we’re going to have to start looking at proper cycleways the whole way around the city. 

The Bespoke Cycling Group, who campaign for safer cycling across Eastbourne, have been highly critical of the Eastbourne town centre improvement scheme, as they say it restricts access for cyclists. The plans involve new bus lanes that won’t allow access for cycles, which Bespoke say will discourage cycling in the town centre and force cyclists onto a busy ring road. 

A statement reads: 

“The routes now open to cycles are being restricted. Choices will be either get off and walk or go on the busy, and for most, inappropriate ring road. The ring road is shown on the crash database as one of the routes with the most traffic incidents. So the young, old and disabled are discouraged from using cycles.

“A cycle route alongside buses was in the original plans. Now buses are permitted in this stretch, and taxis at certain times, but cycles are forbidden.

“This is so far from the national direction as to be laughable. Phase 1 also built out many of the local streets so that the road widths were reduced, forcing cycles further into the path of cars, vans, lorries and buses.

“To make the modal shift away from cars, people need to use buses or cycles. People will not use cycles if they perceive it is more difficult and more dangerous to do so. The town centre plan will make provision for cycling throughout Eastbourne worse and people will continue to drive throughout Eastbourne.”

In response a Council spokesperson told the Eastbourne Herald: “The scheme has to strike a balance between the interests of a range of people with differing needs, including pedestrians, people wanting to access the area who use mobility aids or who have visual or sensory impairments, bus users and those choosing to cycle.

“The kind of configuration we’ve opted for is primarily aimed at improving conditions for the pedestrian environment, and it doesn’t easily lend itself to including access for people choosing to cycle.

“While the scheme does require cyclists to dismount, this only applies to a few town centre streets and we’re actively working to improve cycle routes between the town centre, residential areas of Eastbourne and the seafront. Cycle parking is also proposed to be provided at key entry points into the pedestrianised area. 

“We are investing £6 million in walking and cycling in Eastbourne and south Wealden which includes new cycle routes, and we are also consulting on a Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plan for the county in the new year.”

More on the stop and search of Black Cyclists Founder Mani Arthur that we covered yesterday and earlier today here on the live blog (see below)

Metropolitan Police Superintendent Andy Cox, the force’s lead on road safety, has pledged on Twitter today to undertake a review of the incident.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I have tasked a review into the circumstances of this interaction and use of #StopSearch.

— Andy Cox (@SuptAndyCox) November 19, 2019