MISSING PROSECUTION ALERT: 2 London RLJ videos in 1 day where police didn’t act; MISSING LANCE ALERT: Livestrong relaunch; MISSING DOG ALERT: Quintana loses his Schnauzer; MISSING £650m ALERT: Boris Johnson gets cycling sums wrong + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Aussie BMX Olympic hopeful Kai Sakakibara placed in medically-induced coma after falling during a race
#KaiFight77 A message regarding Kai Sakakibara from his family; Martin, Yuki and Saya.
Please keep thinking of Kai Sakakibara and stay with his family on his journey over the months ahead.
📲 https://t.co/dihoFXFEM0 pic.twitter.com/3OzKI5IsrV
— AusCyclingTeam (@AusCyclingTeam) February 11, 2020
The 23-year-old suffered a serious head injury after falling during his opening-round heat at the World Cup event. He was treated at the scene by paramedics then airlifted to hospital.
A statement from Sakakibara’s family said: “As many of you are aware, Kai was involved in a serious racing accident on Saturday at the UCI BMX World Cup event in Bathurst. Medics and a doctor were on site and were able to manage the situation and provide support to assist with his breathing. They sedated Kai and he was airlifted by helicopter to Canberra Hospital where he was placed in the ICU.
“Kai has suffered a severe head injury which will need time to settle before we have a more accurate understanding of his prognosis. An operation on Sunday morning relieved some pressure on his brain and he has been placed in a medically induced coma to help his body relax.
“Kai’s condition is described as critical but stable, he is in good hands and under 24-hour monitoring. We are expecting he will remain in a medical coma for the next two weeks or so.
“For now, we are waiting to see how things progress and our focus is on his long-term rehabilitation. Kai’s BMX career will be put on hold for now.”
"Are SUVs ads deliberately turning us into heartless b*stards?"
Yesterday, a cyclist was killed by a drunken SUV driver in Arendonk (Antwerp). The driver got out, looked at the victim, and drove away.
“Born to rule”, “Zero duties”, “Chief of the gang”. Are SUVs ads deliberately turning us into heartless bastards? #GoForZero https://t.co/yU3aFouC7L— Heroes for Zero – Brussels (@HeroesforZero) February 12, 2020
The Belgian ad has been attracting plenty of negative replies, with some even suggesting slogans such as ‘born to rule’ and ‘leader of the gang’ reinforce behaviour that cause incidents such as the one mentioned above. Another commented: “It is extremely telling. We have the whole spectrum of virility: Pack leader, alpha male, dominant, power, owing nothing to anyone, being bold. BMW clearly know who they are addressing and play on the insecurity of their customers.”
Introducing the Habre Eco Bike, an e-cargo bike designed to ease pollution in Kathmandu
habre eco bike is made from local bamboo and is designed to ease pollution in kathmanduhttps://t.co/L88HgJ8EI0 pic.twitter.com/vou4EFqfto
— designboom (@designboom) February 12, 2020
designboom reports on this electric cargo bike made from local bamboo in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu. It’s the brainchild of Lance Rake, Professor of Industrial Design at the University of Kansas, who set about creating an emission-free alternative to gas-guzzling vehicles to transport food and people around the city, particularly in historic sites that need preserving.
After working with design students in Melbourne, Professor Rake enlisted the help of a Nepalese specialist architect to build the frame, and worked with Kathmandu University students to test prototypes.
Highly skilled local craftspeople build the full production versions, that are strong enough for numerous children to hitch a ride on.
Team Ineos sign Andrey Amador... we think
👋 @Andrey_Amador 🤝 pic.twitter.com/YQpbaiMHVy
— Team INEOS (@TeamINEOS) February 12, 2020
As we mused on yesterday’s live blog, the UCI only permits riders to change teams between 1st-15th August mid-season, so we’re unsure if Amador will be free to ride competitively for Ineos straight away. Even so, they boast that they’ve signed him on a three-year deal.
Sir Dave Brailsford commented: “Andrey’s consistent record speaks for itself. He is a rider of the highest calibre and his experience in the sport’s biggest races will be invaluable.
“I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve admired Andrey’s performances over the years. His consistent commitment to team goals and his ability to race across a wide range of terrain, combined with his upbeat personality is exactly what we seek in a Team Ineos rider. Everyone on the team is excited to have Andrey join us and we are looking forward to giving him a warm welcome and making great things happen.”
Muchas gracias @Movistar_Team por estos 11 años juntos. Intenté agradecer todo el apoyo que me brindaron en esta carta, aunque es imposible. Les deseo lo mejor 🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/nsy87JfdWc
— Andrey Amador (@Andrey_Amador) February 11, 2020
The 33-year-old Costa Rican thanked Movistar yesterday as he finally departed following 11 years of service, which was made complicated by contract disputes. We’ll be in touch with Ineos shortly to see if there will be any further complications to his next chapter…
RideLon-doh: ballot balls-up means hundreds sent acceptance letters with wrong names (full story to follow)
A statement from the organisers of RideLondon. #RideLondon pic.twitter.com/2zHCcJ1bSs
— Prudential RideLondon (@RideLondon) February 11, 2020
RideLondon say the error has affected 3% of ballot entrants, and was down to “an error in the collation of the acceptance letter and the addressed envelope in the final stage of the mailing process”… essentially (we think), those affected received the names and details of another person on the ballot either one down or one up from them in the list, and so on and so forth. Full story to follow…
Canyon running Speedmax TT bike demo events at the Kent Cyclopark next weekend
If you’ve got your eye on a Speedmax for time trialling or triathlon but are unsure about ordering blind from Canyon’s website, the German brand are running demo days at the Cyclopark in Kent on 23rd February and 15th March so you can try one out.
Experts will be on hand to advise on sizes and cockpit configurations, so you’ll be well informed on exactly what you need to order if you decide to buy one. Registration costs £10, which entitles you to the set-up and advice, an hour of riding and a goodie bag to go home with. If you fancy it, you’ll find all the registration info here.
Cycling UK spreading the love by giving out surprise free bike lights
We surprised Eddie and his owner with free bike lights from @WeAreCyclingUK for Valentine’s Day! Sharing the ♥️ #LoveCycling #ValentinesDay #Portsmouth #Southsea pic.twitter.com/WYCuI1hEbe
— Cycling UK Portsmouth (@CyclingUK_Ports) February 12, 2020
To mark Valentine’s Day, Cycling UK are surprising riders with free sets of bike lights up and down the country. The full romantic video promo is below… lovely.
Specialized launching new 'Turbo Store' in Bristol to showcase their e-bike range
This will be the third Turbo store to open within a Specialized Concept Store, essentially a dedicated e-bike section to show off the latest electrified models from Specialized. It officially opens on Thursday 20th February.
MISSING DOG ALERT: Nairo Quintana has lost his Schnauzer
The Arkéa–Samsic rider and 2014 Giro champ put out an appeal on Facebook, after his black Schnauzer Rocky went missing in the city of Tunja, Colombia.
It’s a particularly bitter pill to swallow for Quintana as he only celebrated his 30th birthday five days ago; he’s supplied a number to call for anyone who might have information regarding his dog’s whereabouts.
Gouda grief: huge cycle parking facility at Gouda station in the Netherlands
You could park maybe 12 cars in this space or…..👇 pic.twitter.com/JtvJ33nkJz
— Brandon Lust (@Brandon_Lust) February 12, 2020
You might get cheesed off trying to locate your bike if you don’t have something of a photographic memory… but in any case that’s a hella lot of wheels.
Livestrong charity rebrands and relaunches to distance itself further from disgraced founder Lance Armstrong
Sharing your cancer story can help bring hope and inspiration to others. Whether it’s about your diagnosis, your treatment, your recovery or someone you know affected by cancer, your story is important. Submit your story & we could feature you on our blog. https://t.co/7wbXlBrJQ1 pic.twitter.com/r1mwHnW9zD
— Livestrong (@livestrong) February 11, 2020
The cancer charity has rebranded with a new logo featuring yellow, orange and blue overlapping rings, a complete change from their former look when millions of the yellow Livestrong bands were worn worldwide.
The relaunch is not just visual, as the charity say they will no longer be assisting cancer patients one-to-one to advise them on insurance and counselling; instead they have pledged to spend $5-6 million annually to support entrepreneurs developing products to improve treatment and patient care.
At Livestrong’s peak during Armstrong’s return to pro cycling in 2009, they pulled in $41 million in donations; however that figure had plummeted to under $2.5 million for the whole of 2018, and their assets have shrunk from $100 million a decade ago to $46 million now.
Armstrong has declined to comment about the charity’s relaunch and turned down the offer to see a brief beforehand. He was also not included in a video compilation the charity put together charting their history at the relaunch event; in fact, the only mention of Armstrong was when the event host referenced that Livestrong had a “famous founder.”
Livestrong President and CEO Greg Lee was quoted in the Denver Post as saying: “We have done everything we can to talk to tell people that (Livestrong) is not about one person. We have a changing focus, a new mission and a new visual identity.”
Cyclist happens across three lobsters at the side of the road
Peter Leidig’s curious crustacean discovery happened in Modbury, after the lifeless lobsters had somehow ended up in a hedge – he believes they may have fallen off the back of a delivery van, and at first mistaken them for plastic.
Mr Leidig then drove the lucky lobsters to Mothecombe Beach in a bucket of water in an attempt to revive them; they began to move and he released them onto the sand. He told Plymouth Live: “There’s probably more chance of winning the lottery than surviving a fall from a lobster van, being found by a cyclist and driven back to the sea.”
Cyclist allegedly collides with a wall in Dundee, causing head injuries
The Courier reports that the 36-year-old cyclist suffered a head injury on Tuesday night at around 4:50pm, after he apparently collided with a wall near a Poundstretcher shop. The severity of his injuries are unknown, and police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward with potential information.
Boris Johnson reportedly got yesterday's cycle spending figures wrong... by £650 million
Downing Street has claimed that yesterday, Boris Johnson was supposed to say £1 billion has been earmarked for cycling and walking routes over the next five years… however he managed to be wide of the mark to the tune of £650 million, saying in his speech that just £350 million would be spent, the Guardian has learned – full story to follow.
Another London red light jumping motorist gets away with it ...
You may have seen our story from earlier about how the Metropolitan Police decided not to refer for prosecution a red light jumping driver … well, wouldn’t you know it, but CycleGaz posted a video to social media today that shows exactly the same thing happening, and once again, no action was taken (this one didn’t have a valid MOT either).
Still, #bloodycyclists eh?
❌ no MOT
❌ doesn’t stop at red light👮♂️ no action taken!
Talk to me again about how number plates are needed for cyclists.https://t.co/M4cWwrtjy6
— CycleGaz™ (@cyclegaz) February 12, 2020
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Kill A Cyclist = Don't Worry, we don't take it seriously, only a Joke Sentence. It's their own fault for cluttering up the roads, and anyway he shouldn't have been out at 4:50 in the morning getting in the way of respectable drivers who have an important job to do
I despair at the leniency of sentences handed out for Death by Careless Driving. If I was responsible for the death of another person based on my negligence in any other way it would be Manslaughter. But the fact a vehicle in involved is separate. Ironically due to the fact the govt at the time who introduced the law thought juries would be too lenient or apprehensive on convicting someone who - at the end of the day - still took another human life because of their actions. This needs more signatures and I hope it can reach its target Call for harsher sentencing for causing death by careless driving: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/766378
Sadly the prison system is a mess. A result of decades of right wing press appeasing longer sentencing, lack of investment and lack of support for released prisoners. The only consolation is that the driver has still paid a high price. He may well never again be employed as a van driver, his insurance premiums will skyrocket, he has a criminal record and much of his leisure time will be spent on community service for the foreseeable future. Maybe in these type of cases a large life-changing fine (£25k - £50k?) would be appropriate? Perhaps this money could be spent on released prisoners support.
But we should all applaud that cyclists can (and very likely in 100% of cases) be sent to jail for life if they are involved in a collision with a pedestrian and that pedestrian dies. Because IDS and that vengeful prick wanted 'equality' with driver sentences.
It is good that at least one motorist has been convicted for excessive speed in 20 mph zones. Whatever opinions of 20 mph limits might be, given the body of evidence of the reduction in KSIs long may the 20 mph limits continue. Anyone arguing against them is saying that the lives of those who have been spared just don't matter.
She put 2 and 0 together and made 27.
A rare legal defeat for Mr Freeman, and I find his client's legal arguments quite frankly ridiculous. However, let's not forget his work road safety campaigning, especially against dangerous e-scooters. I have mixed emotions about 20mph zones. They are certainly useful around schools and child-heavy areas and would especially work if dynamically assigned rather than prescribed throughout entire towns and cities. I and plenty of other cyclists ride above 20mph and it can be annoying stuck behind cars driving at 20mph on a road unnecessarily, it feels like a left-wing power grab to curtail people's freedoms. Instead, I believe that if the existing 30 limit and existing laws on phone use was rigourously enforced it would have a greater impact on KSIs... unfortunately the police have been dragged away to regulate Twitter and act as social services to incapable people.
So Lynda La Plante was driving on multiple occasions on the same road and recieving points & speeding fines? Did she not put 2 and 2 together after the first or second and adjust her speed accordingly? Or did she feel that, with a so called exceptional hardship/not being able to work plea, she would be allowed to do so indefinitely. Could this be a case of her expecting two-tier policing to be applied (beneficially) to herself...?
Re the Lynda La Plante case. I read about this in yesterday's Times. Definitely a case of Freeman laying the mitigating circumstances on thick in the hope that some of them stick. The comment that "a ban could end her career", was presumably instrumental in getting a 6 month rather than 12 month plus ban. La Plante's sense of entitlement was breathtaking. Unlike many banned motorists, she will not lose her job.
Perhaps if Lynda La Plante is constantly 'confused' by simple road signs, then she needs to hand her licence in, rather than a 6 month ban? Also - pleading Exceptional Hardship (which I thought was the only reason to contest a driving ban after accruing so many points) is taking the piss for a world famous author?
7 thoughts on “MISSING PROSECUTION ALERT: 2 London RLJ videos in 1 day where police didn’t act; MISSING LANCE ALERT: Livestrong relaunch; MISSING DOG ALERT: Quintana loses his Schnauzer; MISSING £650m ALERT: Boris Johnson gets cycling sums wrong + more on the live blog”
On the government
On the government announcement of cycle funding yesterday. Johnson told Ruth Cadbury it was the £350 million over 5 years (£1.18 per person per year) he was announcing. Now on Twitter, Carlton Reid says it’s £1bn, and Johnson just had no idea about what he was announcing. It would be good to have some clarity.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
From this government? Rather optimistic isn’t it?
Do we actually know how it’s
Do we actually know how it’s going to be spent yet? E.g. if it’ll just be painted bike lanes or actual real life safe bike routes? For all I know it could be spent on a consulting firm to discover what type of signs will be required to warn drivers not to break the law.
peted76 wrote:
They’ve said that there will be tough new guidelines, so along with all the other guidelines, they will be ignored.
I do not know about the
I do not know about the Belgian BMW SUV ad, but we (the UK) had a VW beheamoth ad featuring an agressive billy goat (perhaps sheep) that seemed to come close to advocating bullying on the roads.
I often get confused between
I often get confused between large-breasted lobsters and dirty bus stops.
I remember going to the
I remember going to the Bristol Specialised store a couple of years ago. I’d had a really nice pair of Spesh’s gloves which I wanted to replace (turned out that they’d been discontinued, which was annoying). The store had this huge car park and then four Sheffield stands tucked away around the back (suspiciously wobbly, as if either they’d been driven into or else someone a little bit ‘whoaa’ had been fiddling with them…)