Team Ineos boss Jim Ratcliffe scraps plan to build Grenadier car in the UK; Everesting just got 86cm harder; MailOnline brags that cars have reclaimed Kensington High Street; So near yet sofa-r; Cops find rare Colnago Ferrari + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Cops bust bike thieves and find stash of expensive bikes including a rare Colnago Ferrari with a five-figure price tag
Thames Valley Police found this stash of stolen bikes in Oxfordshire when they went to arrest a man on suspicion of handling stolen goods. One other suspect was arrested on suspicion of burglary. The haul of bikes includes a rare Colnago Ferrari which has a price tag in excess of £10,000. Some of the other bikes pictured include a Wilier, De Rosa and Scott model.
Thankfully it seems one person who saw the photo may be able to help reunite some of the bikes with their owners. AW Cycles in Reading have offered to trace the shops the bikes were sold, through their links to suppliers, to hopefully find the owners.
Geoff Armstrong commented: “You can probably count on one hand, if not one finger, the number of those in the country. Hope you find the owner.”
Pete Garlick added: “Colnago only made 199 worldwide to celebrate Ferrari’s 60th anniversary in 2008, someone must be looking for it! The thieves had very good taste, Colnago, Wilier and De Rosa!”
So near yet sofa-r: Brave bike courier takes on steep climb...carrying a sofa
Just a little something I took up Park Street the other day 🚲 from r/bristol
The Strava segment for Park Street in Bristol says it’s 300 metres at 7% and hits double figures for the final 200 metres… and road.cc staffers based in the South West can confirm it’s far steeper than it looks in the picture above.
It took some effort for this bike courier to get up it with a sofa. He said: “I was actually going to the top of Charlotte Street and I had to take a little breather before I took the turn as the gradient ramps up quite a bit (and I need to do more cardio I think). Didn’t get off to push though which is what I was aiming for.”
The Velocious Cycle Couriers‘ rider took the acclaim of the locals with one commenter pointing out how tough the climb is, even when you don’t have a sofa strapped to the front of your bike.
Another said: “To this day I don’t understand Park Street, you look at pictures like that and you’re like “oh that’s a slight hill” but when you’re walking up it on a hot day it’s basically a vertical wall.”
To which our courier hero confirmed: “I’ll tell ya, that effect is very much heightened when it includes pushing a sofa.”
UAE Team Emirates to be vaccinated against Covid-19 at winter training camp
The team of Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar will be vaccinated against Covid-19 at their January training camp, with all riders and staff offered the vaccination. The team’s main sprinter, Fernando Gaviria, tested positive for the disease twice this year and was forced to spend a month in quarantine, while Pogačar was also forced to quarantine in the UAE.
Team manager Mauro Gianetti was involved in phase 3 trials of the Sinopharm vaccine that the team hopes to give their riders in January. “I was one of 30,000 volunteers in Abu Dhabi who tested the new Sinopharm vaccine. It was in two doses and I didn’t have any side-effects,” Gianetti explained to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“It’s currently in phase 3 testing, it’s still not been authorised but there’s not far to go and they expect to distribute a billion doses in 2021. In January we intend to vaccinate all the riders and staff.”
Inaugural Esports World Championships
The first-ever Esports World Championships will take place tomorrow with competitors racing on Zwift. Both the men’s and women’s race will cover the same 50km course on the Watopia Figure 8 Reverse, finishing at the top of the Hilly Q/KOM. The course has 483m of elevation and the finish climb is 900 metres at 5.5%. In the UK, the event will be broadcast on Eurosport. For the inaugural edition, Team GB have selected a strong squad including: Dame Sarah Storey, Elinor Barker, Tom Pidcock and Ed Clancy.
“An Esport title would be very bizarre – and very 2020 – but also quite special,” Barker told BBC Sport.
“It’s been really hard this year making the sacrifices that you need to do in order to prepare for events and then see them cancelled, so I’ll never take anything for granted again. Even though it’s virtual and you won’t have people racing side-by-side it should be an exciting event. You have road world champions, track world champions and Paralympic champions, all sorts of people on the start line with all different backgrounds so it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top on the day.”
From the other nations competing, the big name riders include Anna van der Breggen and Annemiek van Vleuten as well as 2019 Tour of Flanders winner Alberto Bettiol and Hour Record holder Victor Campenaerts in the men’s race.
Rab Wardell's West Highland Way record
Yesterday we brought you the news that Rab Wardell had set a new record for cycling the West Highland Way. Wahoo have released this video covering the ride, all nine hours, 14 minutes and 32 seconds of it to be exact. Rab beat the previous record for riding the 96-mile trail, set by Scottish cyclo-cross champion Gary Macdonald, by just over 14 minutes.
'Cars RECLAIM Kensington High Street': MailOnline brags that 'Traffic returns to loathed west London bike route'
MailOnline reported the removal of the Kensington High Street cycle lane with this headline suggesting cars have ‘RECLAIMED’ the road as ‘Traffic returns to loathed west London bike route’. The article claimed that the bollards were removed after a backlash from drivers and local businesses and that the cycle lane became an ‘unlikely battleground in the row between cycling zealots and drivers angry about congestion.’
The story also included quotes from the CEO of Pimlico Plumbers, Charlie Mullins, who said: “What a great thing they’ve done. It was a total mess-up from day one. It cost thousands to install and caused more congestion and pollution. Traffic has been at a standstill, it’s been a disaster. It’s about time that businesses stood up for ourselves because things can’t continue like this. The Kensington cycle lane has been causing big delays for our drivers.”
The first weekend since the lane was removed saw queues of cars backed up along the High Street as well as vehicles parked where the lane used to be. One van was seen parked in the same spot for more than 72 hours without receiving a parking ticket. The van got its own hashtag and had an account called ‘Is the van on Kensington High Street still there?’ providing updates.
In July, Pimlico Plumbers toned down a blog post that talked of “cycle fascists” who were “taking f**king liberties.” The photos were removed and the title changed to “It’s illogical to expect businesses to thrive on scraps of roadway when the blue bike-lanes are empty.”
.@RBKC‘s priorities – take out the cycle lane, and give van owners 72 hours of free on-street parking.
This is how Cllr @jthalassites ‘balances’ the needs of road users, and keeps Kensington’s Canape Clubs happy. pic.twitter.com/VytB9k9wT1— always last (@lastnotlost) December 7, 2020
I’m pleased to see the removal of the cycle lane has cleared up the congestion on Kensington High St. 🙄 (today, 3pm) pic.twitter.com/ihdod6Todw
— @Cyclist_London 📱+🚘=❌ (@cyclist_london) December 5, 2020
Bike Trossachs to launch Gravelfoyle in 2021
If you watched the video we shared earlier of Rab Wardell’s West Highland Way ride and have been inspired to take a trip to discover Scotland by two wheels, Bike Trossachs think they have your must-visit destination. Cycling Industry News reports the local community interest group plans to launch Gravelfoyle next spring with the aim of promoting Aberfoyle as Scotland’s premier gravel cycling destination.
There are 200km of off-road trails within a 12km radius of the village on the edge of Loch Lomond and the spring launch will see three new routes, ranging between 10km and 30km, opened.
Enda McLoughlin of Bike Trossachs said: “With the growing success of Aberfoyle as a cycling destination and gravel riding in particular we want to harness the success and incredible offering that this area offers cyclists and create a collective vision for the future of our hometown.”
Tear up the record books...Everest is higher than first thought
Too bad for any Everesting attempts that stopped at 8,848m of elevation. It turns out the world’s highest mountain is 0.86m taller than first thought. The BBC says that officials from China and Nepal have agreed to co-ordinate on a new height of 8,848.86m for the peak that stands on the border of the two countries. Chinese authorities had previously measured Everest to its rock height, while Nepalese authorities wanted the snow on top of the summit to be included.
Everesting in the cycling world has garnered interest in a year when conventional racing was put on hold. Several pros broke the record for fastest Everesting, while in November a Fife ultracyclist rode a virtual Everest every day for two weeks. Try again people, you’ve got another 86cm to climb…
IT'S BACK!
I’m sure we’ll get the officially verified sighting from the ‘Is the van on Kensington High Street still there?’ Twitter account soon, but for now you’ll just have to take our word for it. We think this is the Caffe Concerto van but perhaps it’s just another driver who had to wait for all the other parked cars to move…
No. There isn’t enough space pic.twitter.com/9i2Pai2jZa
— Is the van on Kensington High Street still there? (@KensingtonVan) December 8, 2020
Rod Ellingworth rejoins Ineos Grenadiers
Rod Ellingworth has rejoined Ineos Grenadiers as the new Director of Racing. Last week, Ellingworth stepped down from his role at Bahrain McLaren, the job he left Ineos for. Cyclingnews reports Dan Hunt will move into the position of Director of Performance.
A spokesperson for the team said: “We can confirm the appointments of Rod Ellingworth as Director of Racing and Dan Hunt as Director of Performance. Both Rod and Dan rejoin the team to help cement a new approach to racing and build upon the foundation laid on the road at the end of 2020. Rod will be taking the lead on the racing programme, including talent identification, development and recruitment, while Dan will focus on the development of our performance strategy and systems.”
*Update, in light of news further up the page: having been in the job a couple of days already, Ellingworth has already lasted longer than the UK manufacturing plant for the Ineos Grenadier 4×4…
Team Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe scraps plan to build Grenadier 4x4 in the UK
We can confirm today that we have acquired the manufacturing facility at Hambach from Mercedes-Benz. Manufacturing at Hambach ensures we remain on track to meet our plans to deliver the Grenadier to customers in early 2022. Full statement: https://t.co/a2RKd98O32 pic.twitter.com/NHf1lSWXxP
— INEOS Grenadier (@INEOSGrenadier) December 8, 2020
Not only is cycling’s biggest team now named after a 4×4… but production of said car is now being moved to France. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the boss of the Ineos chemical company who are title sponsors of the team formerly known as Sky, had said the Grenadier would be produced in Bridgend, Wales; however, today the economics editor at the BBC, Faisal Islam, reported that the ‘billionare Brexit backer’ will move the car’s production to Hambach, at a facility the company recently bought from Mercedes-Benz.
An Ineos Grenadier tweet said: “Building the vehicle in Britain was always our intention and the plan was fully costed and deliverable. Of course, we understand there will be disappointment in the UK. But the business case for Hambach was overwhelming.”
Ratcliffe said: “Hambach presented us with a unique opportunity that we simply could not ignore: to buy a modern automotive manufacturing facility with a world-class workforce. Ineos Automotive set out a vision to build the world’s best utilitarian 4×4, and at our new home in Hambach, we will do just that.”
In September, Ineos Grenadiers were criticised for their relentless 4×4 promotion after riders were interviewed in front of the car.
How it started How it’s going pic.twitter.com/DMNS5wJWJ6
— Claudia (@claudianvm) December 8, 2020
Kensington High Street van-gate: it's allegedly a different van
No… But a white BMW and #impostervan (definitely not causing congestion) are aiming to break the 78 hour record pic.twitter.com/vWS1FAZuEH
— Is the van on Kensington High Street still there? (@KensingtonVan) December 8, 2020
Apparantly this isn’t the Caffe Concerto Van, but an imposter that could be attempting to break the reported 78 hour record that the notorious original van managed to stay there without picking up a fine. How about a cycle lane instead?
8 December 2020, 09:14
8 December 2020, 09:14
8 December 2020, 09:14
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Latest Comments
@Pub bike - well, off-road (ICE) motorbikes have been available for decades, so you're right about the proposed law being too narrow. I've seen scrotes riding them in parks and on the roads, but they're much less common than the newer e-motorbikes.
@hawkinspeter I think my point buried in there somewhere is that the law being devised is too narrowly focused around electric bikes/motorbikes and it should encompass the sale of any kind of motorbike. The wording talks about "electrically assisted" which would seem to exclude throttle controlled bikes. The bikes I saw that had no pedals - and therefore the electricity does not assist but is the sole source of propulsion - would fall outside of this legislation, so already there is a loophole. It would probably help to have some technical input to this bill by people that actually understand the differences between bicycles, e-bikes, EAPCs and motorbikes before it goes too far.
The Streeting Rule is, Cycling and Walking tomorrow and Cycling and Walking yesterday, but never Cycling and Walking today.
It’s a nuanced proposition, for sure. I did start the article with “There are few hills I’m truly up for dying on, but kickstands on bikes is one of them” - and no comment here has changed my mind 😎
@ hawkinspeter you are absolutely right. But of course there is little enforcement, the police don't have the resources etc etc.
@jackcycles - no it reflects the reality that most folk are scared to cycle because of inconsiderate and dangerous drivers. Cycling numbers markedly increase when it is made safe to do so.
"Kickstands make every bike ride better" Can't think of any of my rides in the last few weeks that would have been "better" with a kickstand; a few that *might* possibly have been a bit more of a pain with one (especially with the amount of plant growth at the moment in the South West of the UK), but none it would have improved. So there we go, nice easy proof by contradiction.
I'll be surprised & amazed if all of those billions are actually delivered. I expect to hear, in a few years' time, that only a fraction of that was taken up for various reasons, & the rest was therefore diverted towards other 'number one issues'.
@bensynnock to be fair, there does seem to be a marshall shown in the picture.
@Rendel Harris Going down the hill was usually Ok ish, it was coming back up that was the problem, especially at night. Near the top it narrowed with hedges on a low wall, not somewhere you would chose to ride on your own in the dark. Best time was race days when it is all stationary!
34 thoughts on “Team Ineos boss Jim Ratcliffe scraps plan to build Grenadier car in the UK; Everesting just got 86cm harder; MailOnline brags that cars have reclaimed Kensington High Street; So near yet sofa-r; Cops find rare Colnago Ferrari + more on the live blog”
RE : The TVP post. AW are
RE : The TVP post. AW are my LBS and Lewis the mechanic has put up with many of my pain in the butt spannering requests over the years. Strongly recommend them if you are passing. Proper bread and butter bike shop – not a coffee dock in sight.
AW are great and Lewis is a
AW are great and Lewis is a star!
AW Cycles in Reading have
Easy enough for the Colnago Ferrari I imagine because of rarity, and this may be very straightforward for direct to consumer brands, but I’ve often wondered this for more mainstream brands sold through retailers – are frame numbers traceable to the shops that sold them? And do shops typically keep records of who they sold a particular frame number to?
The bike shop next to my
The bike shop next to my office (which I haven’t worked in since March as I’ve been working from home) sells the Ferrari branded Colnago bikes. They only have the hybrid and MTB models, but they don’t cost anything like £10,000. Last time I checked (march), you could get a decently equipped MTB for about £400.
OldRidgeback wrote:
Your LBS sells Colnago bikes (with Ferrari badges) for £400? Where is it? I’m on my way!
OldRidgeback wrote:
If you look at the last para, this was one of the 199 limited edition made for Ferrari’s 60th anniversary in 2008. There was one on eBay recently for £12,000, IIRC.
I thought (seriously) about
I thought (seriously) about doing a replic Colnago
Ferrari. There are good quality decals on ebay.
The cool green Scott is worth a mention too 😉
Not entirely sure I would
Not entirely sure I would like my cycling team to source a Chinese Vaccine for me, where the testing might not be of the same standard as an EU/US tested vaccine. Think I’d rather wait and my countries “official” one. I wonder if the riders will have a choice?
Secret_squirrel wrote:
Well the offical UK one didn’t meet full EU/US standards either…
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-eu/eu-criticises-hasty-uk-approval-of-covid-19-vaccine-idUKKBN28C1B9
doesn’t mean it’s not ok though – I’ll be having it.
Really? Do you have to
Really? Do you have to provide direct links to the Heil Online clickbait articles? You realise you are helping them stay in business right?
The only reason the HeilOnline exists is to create a fictious distance between the right of centre Newspaper and the hatred they will espous to get more ad revenue.
Stop playing their game. They are the same ilk as Farage et al, they profit by stirring up Hatred and False outrage.
DONT ENABLE THEM.
I’ve been fighting the anti
I’ve been fighting the anti-cycling rubbish by the DM for years, surprisingly I’ve had some good wins, but most I lose – if my comment is rated the worst comment I know I have done well. I need help, they need to be continually told the factual truth by a lot of cyclists – so get in there and bash the DM.
When you visit them, you fund
When you visit them, you fund them. They don’t care if you beat them with facts, they still profit.
I’m confused about that
I’m confused about that Kensington bike lane story – please can the Mail explain why it’s better to replace a bike lane with a line of parked cars? In what way is that helping all that supposed congestion…?
brooksby wrote:
If only we lived in a world where journalists were accountable. Maybe if we had some kind of regulator?*
*joke, there is one, it’s not fit for purpose or it has zero power and will never have power until the time tax dodging billionaires are stopped from running the country.
I don’t speak on behalf on
I don’t speak on behalf on the Mail, I’m just guessing that the local shop owners believe cars parked at the roadside means more business for them.
It’s simply because they hate
It’s simply because they hate you. And they hate me.
Lukas wrote:
I knew there’d be a simple explanation… 😉
And the Park Street bike
And the Park Street bike courier story: wow! Just, wow…
ebike !
ebike !
I can agree with Park Street
I can agree with Park Street feeling steeper than it looks, but the real grunt inducing bit is when you merge onto the triangle at the top of it. Luckily, the Sofa didn’t need to go that far, though.
This, very much. Park St is
This, very much. Park St is an effort but when you get on to the Triangle and need to *sprint* to get into the right-hand lane for Queens Rd/Whiteladies… oof!
But the thought of riding Park St with a sofa is quite… oof again! Chapeau to the courier.
Bmblbzzz wrote:
Has anyone else noticed how motorists who get in the right hand lane so as to get to Queens Road/Whiteladies Road take it very personally if a cyclist does exactly the same thing…?
brooksby wrote:
Nope. No more than normal anyway.
fukawitribe wrote:
Nope. No more than normal anyway.— brooksby
Really? Must be just me.
(If it wasn’t for the possiblity of their misjudging, clipping me, and sending me spinning off across the road, then the desperation with which they undertake me – by passing into the lane to the left and then back again, engine screaming because they didn’t bother to change gear, just so they can sit in front of me at the traffic lights at the top of Jacobs Wells Road – would be hilarious…)
brooksby wrote:
Oh some surely do – although relatively few IME – same as everywhere else. Motorists aren’t arseholes though, people are arseholes and arseholes get more dangerous in motorised vehicles.
One thing that does amuse me is free-wheeling down Jacob Wells Road and watching some folk creep past, trying not to do too much over 20 – then just pass them at the bottom on the roundabout. Timing those lights heading out off town can be very satisfying (and rapid)..
The joke of Kensington High
The joke of Kensington High Street is that it is now a dinosaur of a road. It has always been congested right back to when I started using it in the 1970’s as a more direct route to west of London. However it is totally unviable as a through route for traffic now due to all of the road changes and access restrictions across Camden, Islington, City of London and Southwark.
It would be interesting to see the data on the type of car journeys made through the area as one has a feeling the Council really have crapped on their own doorstep with this, as congestion in this area will only get worse. Local businesses aren’t neccessarily local residents and we already know from Grenfell what this local authorities attitude is to doing right by their residents. It would be great if they were voted out over this type of issue; but money talks and that is highly unlikely.
How many of those Everesting
How many of those Everesting attempts actually stopped on the dot of 8,848m? Presumably most people will have finished the climb they were on – looking at Lachlan Morton’s Strava, it records his total elevation gain as 8,509m. So it should simply be a case of going back to the GPS log and re-calculating the time it took to cross the threshold of elevation gain.
Britiiiiiish Grenadieeeeeers!
Britiiiiiish Grenadieeeeeers! Aboooooooouuuuuut turn!
Brexit backer moves
Brexit backer moves production abroad?
never!!
EddyBerckx wrote:
Like Dyson. Like Rees-Moggs hedge fund. I’m waiting for Wetherspoons to go offshore…
But it makes perfect sense
But it makes perfect sense obviously. Hambach is well located – close to the German border, North Italy, Austria and Switzerland. There is excellent infrastructure, world class local suppliers, frictionless trade, world’s largest free market and of course the borders are open to goods and workers. Just the type of environment business wants.
The Ineos bike team should be
The Ineos bike team should be given the cold shoulder by British media & all British cycling fans, until they replace their sponsor.
Apologists for this bunch of good-for-nothings: please don’t have the cheek to put your heads above the parapet today.
Am I glad that Froome, for
Am I glad that Froome, for whom I have great respect, has left this team.
iandusud wrote:
I’m a fan of Froome but let’s not pretend he’s left for any other reason than the fact that he was never going to be selected as a GT leader again – he happily raced years for Murdoch and then for INEOS, it’s not as though he’s quit on a point of principle.