“Brighton not paying enough?”: Premier League manager does cycling ad for bike brand… and gets told to “focus on the footy” and wear a helmet; ‘Our strip club has bike racks and a cycle lane’; Giro Eve (+ EF reveals new kit) + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"From the sidelines to the start line": A Giro dream come true
Irish rider Darren Rafferty will make his Giro debut tomorrow and shared this cracking post on Facebook…
What it’s all about. Good luck, Darren.
Rapha and EF reveal latest switch-out kit
It’s become a modern tradition of Giro week that EF and Rapha reveal their switch-out kit, a one-off outfit for the opening Grand Tour of the season to avoid their usual pink colours clashing with the race leader’s maglia rosa. The highlight of recent editions was of course the Palace collab that became an instant classic and sold out everywhere online, although this year’s is a bit more understated.
It’s available to RCC members from today before going on general sale tomorrow, Rapha saying it’s a white diamond finish to the brand’s new Pro Team Summer Roadsuit and Flaero Jersey. What do we reckon? Definitely more subtle than some previous switch-out kits, but I quite like it.
[📷: Rapha/EF Pro Cycling]
Also from Mr Hürzeler's comments... some positivity...
As FionaJJ pointed out in the comments, the reaction to Fabian’s advert wasn’t all bad. Some enjoyed seeing it, or more to the point a big name from the world of Premier League football openly shouting from the rooftops about his enjoyment of cycling… (even if for a cheque). Some positivity at least… although no prizes for spotting which comments got the most likes…
'Our strip club has bike racks and a cycle lane'
There’s a post going viral with Twitter’s bots and blue-tick accounts simply for asking: “Why the strip club ain’t got a bike rack?” Cue the reply…
That’s enough Twitter for one morning…
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot "not fit enough to continue racing", leaves Vuelta Femenina
Paris-Roubaix hero Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won’t take to the start at the Vuelta Femenina today, Visma-Lease a Bike stating she “is not feeling fit enough to continue the race”. Ferrand-Prévot later explained she has been unable to recover fully from an infection in her ankle since Roubaix and hopes to take some time to be back to 100 per cent for the summer and the Tour de France, her main goal of the year.
"A flesh wound": Reddit cyclists amused by £250 Facebook Marketplace bike with just "a ding" to the frame
Just “a ding” on this top tube apparently…
In the exact words of the listing: Selling this Surly Straggler at significantly reduced price as it has a ding in the frame and can’t afford to replace it […] Standard build in good condition, though could do with a new chain.
“I dunno that’s a pretty large ‘ding’,” the person who shared it on Reddit suggested, another commenting: “For a Surly, ’tis but a flesh wound.”
Old but gold: Another famous football manager embraces bike life
Our personal favourite football x cycling crossover, although Fabio Cannavaro and his bling Trek Madone is a decent follow for those on Strava. Mancini, Ten Hag, Warnock and now Hürzeler. There’s plenty of competition to manage our XI…
> Footballers who cycle XI — the Premier League stars who love life on two wheels
New bikes, new (13-speed?) components and kit debuting in the 2025 WorldTour peloton — extra gears, new tech and all the latest equipment to look out for
"I can't wait to get back on the road again": Thames Valley Police reunite cyclist with stolen bike
Thames Valley Police recovered four suspected stolen bikes during a trip to London last month, returning one to its owner in Witney. The force said they used the frame number and Bike Register to find the owner and get it back to her.
“Delighted to receive the phone call yesterday,” the cyclist said. “Excellent work TVP, I can’t wait to get back on the road again.”
> Your bike’s been stolen – now what? Here’s what to do next (and fast)
Kudos to the team for this one, although I’m sure many would like to see bike theft treated more seriously, more often. After all, the most recent stats showed that 89 per cent of cases go unsolved and the Lib Dems have warned that the crime has been effectively “decriminalised” in the UK.
In December, an anti-crime campaigner claimed “theft has become legal”, that after having a bike stolen from outside Scotland Yard HQ; a case the Met closed one day later despite there being CCTV footage and a location for the bike from a tracker.
The British Transport Police earlier this year admitted that bike thefts are “unlikely to ever be solved”. So, yes, more of this sort of thing please, Thames Valley Police.
"I thought I'd hit a bird": Drink driver who killed cyclist while using two mobile phones in hit-and-run crash jailed for 11 years
Another cracking kit... Egan Bernal gets special Colombian champ's colours for the Giro
It’s not just EF bringing a new look to the Giro…
Councillors clash over Oxford LTNs after FOI request reveals county council has spent almost £4m on the schemes since 2021
A Freedom of Information request (FOI) from the BBC has revealed the cost of Oxfordshire County Council’s investment in Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) since 2021. While schemes in parts of the country have been shown to improve air quality both inside and on boundary roads, as well as receiving support from emergency services, LTNs have faced regular criticism from local politicians and the former Conservative government.
The news Oxfordshire County Council has spent almost £4m on the schemes since 2021 has typically therefore caused debate among local councillors.
Green Party representative Emily Kerr called the LTNs a “proven road safety measure, cutting pedestrian accidents by around 85 per cent inside and on the boundary roads”.
“Given the emotional and financial cost of car crashes, which can run into tens of thousands of pounds per collision, as well as the positive health impacts of the switch to walking and cycling, I think the annual cost to the council of £55,000 represents excellent value for money,” she said.
However, the BBC also heard from independent councillor Saj Malik who called the spending “completely tone deaf” and a “waste” of money. A council spokesperson said the schemes have made “residential streets healthier to live on and safer and more comfortable for walking, wheeling, and cycling”.
WyndyMilla founders save custom bike specialist and Spoon Customs from liquidation, but insist: "There is no grand plan as of yet"
Is the Vuelta over already? Demi Vollering wins stage five and takes commanding lead
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) May 8, 2025
With two stages to go Demi Vollering has taken red in Spain with a dominant climbing display at Lagunas de Neila. When Vollering went at 3km to go there was a brave fight from Marlen Reusser and Anna van der Breggen behind, but little could be done to stop their rampaging former teammate.
The FDJ Suez star now looks extremely likely to defend her Vuelta title this weekend, a punchy stage tomorrow and another summit finish all that stands between Vollering and a third Grand Tour win of her career. If today’s was anything to go by, she could extend her lead between now and then.
By the finish Reusser was 24 seconds back, Van der Breggen even further at almost a minute. For the GC picture it means Vollering is in red, with Van der Breggen and Reusser at 45 and 46 seconds respectively. SD Worx will go back to the drawing board and presumably devise a plan to catch Vollering out, the leader’s positioning and race craft an occasional area of doubt previously and something her former teammates may now have to look to exploit, her legs on the climbs clearly superior.
Tomorrow could be a sprint, although there are some lumps in the final 30km. Saturday’s final stage finishes atop Alto de Cotobello, a climb even tougher than today’s. If Vollering maintains her gap until then, she’ll surely reign in Spain once again.
"Brighton not paying enough?": Premier League manager does cycling ad for bike brand... and gets told to "focus on the footy" and wear a helmet
With Brighton deep in the battle for eighth place and a potential spot in Europe next season, manager Fabian Hürzeler has taken some time out to enjoy life on two wheels… and post an advert for bike brand VanMoof on his Instagram.
The German boss (or perhaps, if we’re being cynical, someone more commercially minded) told Brighton fans on Insta: “I’ve been cycling around Brighton a lot recently: smooth, quiet and really fun. Exploring the city feels like a real reset. Big thanks to @vanmoof for setting me up — already a fan.”
So how did Brighton’s fanbase, more than a bit stressed by the race for European football, take the news of their gaffer doing ads for a bike brand days before a tricky trip to in-form Wolves? Exactly as you might expect…
“Yeah I’m rattled”
“We’ve got Wolves in four days mate”
“Focus on the footy mate”
“We need a win to get Europe, please stop doing ads”
“Fabian we are currently sat in 10th, lad”
“Mate, focus on Wolves. I swear if we drop points again like we did against every bad club this season”
Editor Jack (our resident Wolves-supporting staffer) may or may not have reported that last comment to the relevant authorities for misinformation. Donning the Sherlock Holmes detective hat for a second, the lack of leaves on the trees in the first pic perhaps suggests this was all set up a while back, although the timing of it being posted ahead of such an important match was never likely to go down particularly well.
Away from the less-than-impressed Brighton fans, Hürzeler also got asked “Where’s ur helmet lad?” Thankfully, there wasn’t enough energy in the comments section for a full-blown helmet debate, it’s too early on Thursday morning for all that yet…
Someone else joked Brighton must not be paying enough, their poor downtrodden manager struggling to survive without making a bit of dough on the side. Talking of dough, the bike brand in question, VanMoof, must have found some since it was bought by e-scooter company Lavoie in 2023, VanMoof having gone bankrupt before that investment saved the day.
Last July, the brand offered an £850 discount to riders who paid for e-bikes they never received when the firm went bankrupt.
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Latest Comments
@mdavidford The J - Ʞ combo with the picture of a Queen is the best one, followed by the Λ of clubdiamondspades, then the 8/7 of hearts.
@SecretSam I agree about the real Raleigh dying years ago - when I worked in a village bike shop in Cape Cod in the US in the late 80's, lots of the local homes had a few US-market Raleigh 3-speeds from the 1950's or 60's still knocking around the shed/garage/basement (with the script "Made by Raleigh of England" on the chainguard) and the quality was amazing - the steel items like the stem and cranks were stamped out of really high quality steel and had razor-sharp edges, like parts of a gun, whereas on my own eighties-made Raleigh at home those parts looked like they were stamped out of fondant icing...
@Rendel Harris Yes, I agree. I like the study because it highlights that it is possible for badly designed cycle paths to kill, something, I assume, was not known in the post-war years when the Berlin cycling network was built. It appears to me that the problem with this part of the cycle path is the wide corner. It allows traffic to enter the road far too quickly and the angle of the traffic puts the cyclist in the vehicle's blind spot. Would a tighter, more 90° corner solve the issue?
@mdavidford I only discovered GC during their (not short-lived enough) prog rock phase. "The False Equivalence of Conspiracy Theorists and Electronic Charlatans" (you remember, the 97 minute disco funk opera) was pretentious, confused and self indulgent, yet entertaining, albeit at times extremely repetitive. Seen at Brixton Academy in the mid 80s. The PA was awfully distorted & the merch overpriced. I did get into a fight with a yuppie over a pint of Mild though, so every cloud...
Try it with no hands, apparently it is easier https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db804Pxty3y/
Ditto here. I think I’d be more willing to give it a go if I wasn’t clipped in and had flat pedals.
@Nick Hill That's all good then.
My skills on the bike are sh1t too but that hasn't stopped me cycling nearly 185,000 miles in the last 20 years. My balance in the last 7years now Ive had a cancer iron blockage removed is quite good (well for me at least) but I think I am too old to learn new tricks.
Didn't their keyboard player go on to be in Groupthink Contributors? Now that was one hell of a supergroup. I still remember the astounding experience of hearing their seminal 'Thin End of a Wedge, a Slippery Slope' for the first time.
Same thing here. The older I get, the more I am afraid of riding hands-free. And on this new bike, which is wickedly effective in corners but albo verges on being unstable on straights, it just scares me. Does that make me a coward or am I just getting old?
20 thoughts on ““Brighton not paying enough?”: Premier League manager does cycling ad for bike brand… and gets told to “focus on the footy” and wear a helmet; ‘Our strip club has bike racks and a cycle lane’; Giro Eve (+ EF reveals new kit) + more on the live blog”
No prizes for guessing what
No prizes for guessing what level of grief Herr Hürzeler would have received had he posed with an enormous wankpanzer or penis-extension sportscar…none, you say? You may be right…
Not if they’re EVs, as their
Not if they’re EVs, as their owners are saving the planet don’t you know?
I looked at the original
I looked at the original instagram post. The responses are much nicer and more positive than you’d think from the specially selected group extracted for this story. Even amongst those that are ‘critical’, a good chunk could readily be categorised as the usual mocking of footballers and football managers if they did any other advert.
It’s much harder to credibly complain about certain newspapers having an anti-cycling bias when they write rage-bait stories about cyclists when supposed pro-cycling media deploy the exact same tricks.
hear hear!
hear hear!
Quite right. I’m sick to
Quite right. I’m sick to death of road.cc searching for and reprinting any anti-cycling comments it can scrape from the bottom of the internet barrel in the desperate hope that it will generate engagement through outrage.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
But anti Brighton and Hove Albion content is to be applauded.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
…what it likes to call…
…a Found Poem.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
This has been your tune for a number of years now, at least 90% of your comments are to say how much you hate road.cc and how rubbish they are. One does wonder quite why you bother visiting at all…
For the outrage.
For the outrage.
I thought that van Moof went
I thought that van Moof went bust?
brooksby wrote:
Yes, I missed that the first
Yes, I missed that the first time I read the article
Road.cc wrote:
Deleted
Road.cc wrote:
The down tube is also bent. The fork could also be bent. I would guess that this bike was ridden into a stationary or slow moving object with enough force to push the front wheel back into the frame. It needs a new frame (£655+) as it would seem unlikely it could be brought back to new for less.
It’s not bent – it’s
It’s not bent – it’s customised.
Quote:
mdavidford wrote:
That reminds me, where I read an article recently talking about ‘something’ (can’t remember what). The people were up in arms saying 1 in 4 of ‘something’ was done by immigrants, and someone pointed out that meant 3 in 4 were not done by immigrants. People always choose the number and emphasis that supports their point of view.
If the schemes are shown to
If the schemes are shown to be working and they cut accidents by 85% then £4m looks like incredible value for money. Once the stats are in then the Council should really make the most of this investment (as Wales are doing with the 20mph limit). Tax payers will undoubtedly be demanding the same everywhere 😁
IanMK wrote:
… and / or reduce the congestion (contrary to populist common sense cycle infra can do this, as part of a healthy traffic diet). Or increase the general health of the population slightly (benefit most apparent after we’ve managed to achieve “mass cycling”).
If we’re doing football
If we’re doing football/cycling cross over again, I hope you’ll indulge me posting this https://youtu.be/aDKa2M2-S74?si=TioqTwXjfU9Vi3fj