“He saved the race!”: Bizarre scenes as spectator leaps over race barriers to collect jumper seconds before bunch sprint; Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lane? Because it’s been turned into a New York ice cream truck stand + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Sadly the adventure is going to have to be a little briefer": London-Edinburgh-London ultra cycling event shortened after riding suspended by 100mph Storm Floris gusts
"Without events such as this, towns die": Council defends major British Cycling race and calls frustrated locals' traffic complaints a "brief moment of inconvenience"
“So it’s not a dream…”: Dylan Groenewegen signs for Unibet Tietema Rockets in the most bizarrely serious move of the transfer window
In probably the craziest move of this silly season, the Dutch national champion has ended up on a team that used to spend its Tour de France rest days handing out pizza and challenging WorldTour riders to wheelie contests.
Dylan Groenewegen — six-time Tour stage winner, 75-time race winner, one of the most established sprinters in the peloton — has signed a two-year deal with Unibet Tietema Rockets. Yes, the one co-founded by Bas Tietema. Yes, the one that only became a UCI-registered team in 2023. No, this is not satire.
“This winter, I spoke with Josse Wester,” Groenewegen says in the team’s announcement video. “And these guys are more serious than I thought. It’s a real cycling team, they want to grow, and they have a really good plan. And I believe in the plan — that’s the most important.”
In fairness, the signs have been there for a while. Tietema’s team has gone from offbeat content creators to a functional — and increasingly ambitious — ProTeam, picking up four wins this year and building a proper race programme. But even so, poaching one of the fastest men in the sport, while he’s still national champion, still very much winning, still on a WorldTour contract… that’s a different level.
And they haven’t just signed Groenewegen. Alongside him comes Elmar Reinders, his long-time lead-out man at Jayco-AlUla. “Welcome aboard, @elmarreinders!” the team wrote on social media. “We add even more WorldTour experience to our sprint group with the signing of Elmar Reinders, Dylan’s trusted companion.”
In the team’s announcement, Bas Tietema said this is exactly the kind of move they’ve been working towards. “Signing Dylan marks a huge step forward for our project,” he said. “We want to inspire people by showing what’s possible when you dream big. Having a proven winner like Dylan on board shows we’re serious about taking this team to the next level.
“For us, it was never just about signing a big name. It was about finding someone who truly believes in what we’re building here and is able to bring that to a higher level.”
> Cycling banter we live for… at the expense of Unibet Tietama Rockets
Groenewegen said: “I love the way the Rockets dare to do things differently, and I believe in their plan to build something special,” he said. “Earlier in my career, I was part of a team that was still building towards the top. Back then at Jumbo-Visma, not everything was perfect yet, but looking back, those were probably the years I enjoyed the most in my career.”
“There’s something special about being part of a project that’s growing and fighting to prove itself every day. I see that same energy and ambition at Unibet Tietema Rockets, working towards the big goal of riding the Tour de France. I can’t wait to help write the next chapter together.”
Tietema echoed that sentiment: “From our very first talks with Dylan, it was clear he understood our vision and wanted to be part of this project. His hunger to win, combined with his belief in our vision, makes him the perfect fit for where we want to go as a team.”
This is the team’s third signing for 2026, after bringing in Czech rider Matyáš Kopecký to join his brother Tomas. But this one, this is the headline grabber. Groenewegen is not a sprinter on the decline. He’s not on his way out. He’s still winning, still reliable, still capable of delivering at the top level.
The fact that he’s leaving the WorldTour voluntarily to join a team that still drops its big news via YouTube thumbnails… that says something. About the team. About the state of cycling. About where credibility comes from.
Two years ago, they were filming wheelies. Next season, they’ll be leading out Groenewegen.
Santander Cycles offline after software update failure leaves over 12,000 bikes out of action across London
In news that will surprise absolutely no one who’s ever tried to unlock a hire bike in central London at 8:45am, Santander Cycles have suffered a full-scale system meltdown after a scheduled software upgrade went wrong — leaving more than 12,000 bikes and e-bikes completely out of service on Tuesday morning.
The outage has affected both the Santander Cycles app and the touchscreen terminals at docking stations, meaning users couldn’t release bikes by fob, app, or even old-school on-screen tapping. According to TfL, the issue began during planned updates and “overran” — a generous way of saying the whole system currently doesn’t work.
“I got to my usual station and tried to release a bike with my fob, which wouldn’t work,” commuter Aodh Ó Daighre told the BBC. “So I tried to log into the app, which also wasn’t working. I walked further onto the next station and also tried to use the screen on the terminal but it said that no bikes were available at the station.”
The kicker? The docks weren’t empty. “[This was] particularly annoying,” he added, “as all the stations were over 80% full.”
TfL has apologised for the disruption and said it’s working to “restore services as soon as possible,” but gave no estimated time for when the system would be back online.
Van driver who "engaged with phone" for 10 seconds before killing time trial cyclist cleared of causing death by dangerous driving
“Coming back at y’all”: Remco Evenepoel returns to training after Tour de France withdrawal with Strava post that hints at what’s next
Three weeks after climbing off his bike in the Pyrenees, Remco Evenepoel is back in the saddle.
The Belgian posted on Strava on Monday from his hometown in Belgium, the 105km ride marked his first public training effort since abandoning the Tour de France. And while the power numbers aren’t listed, the average speed of 35.1km/h — with a few KOM attempts in the mix — suggests he wasn’t just spinning his legs.
The title of the post is from late French rapper Werenoi, and especially given the subtitle — “Coming back at y’all — ooh, we could be looking at a freshly rejuvenated Remco in the autumn.
Seabass Cycles reaches 20% of fundraising goal as support pours in for beloved London bike shop
Independent London bike shop Seabass Cycles has now reached 20 per cent of its crowdfunder target as it continues a campaign to keep the doors open following a sudden rent hike, and after just five days, the outpouring of support from the local and cycling community has already been, in their words, “huge”.
In a heartfelt Instagram update, owners Sam Lewin and Charlie Roberts said the team was “beyond grateful” for the donations, messages and professional offers of support they’ve received since launching the appeal to help fund a move to a new premises.
They wrote: “We still have a long way to go but we are definitely on the right path. Things are progressing here and we are moving forward with a new property.”
The latest update also included a message to everyone who’d donated, regardless of the amount: “YOU ARE THE ONES! Regardless of your financial situation, you have dipped into your pocket and helped us. We are beyond grateful, and everyone’s generosity has been heartwarming.”
They added: “We are trying to respond and send our gratitude to all that have donated but the response has been huge. If we’ve not replied to you yet, we will do soon.”
The shop also plans to host a fundraiser event in the near future with “jumble stools, a raffle, music and drinks,” with all proceeds going into the relocation fund.
Founded in Camberwell in 2013 and currently located on Rye Lane in Peckham, Seabass Cycles has long been a cornerstone of the local cycling scene — known for its friendly, inclusive ethos and for supporting everyone from commuters and club riders to kids learning how to fix their first flat. But in a post last week, Sam and Charlie said the shop now faces an existential threat due to financial difficulties and an unaffordable rent rise.
“The risk of closing our doors and losing everything we’ve built is very real,” they said, explaining they must vacate their current space by the end of September.
If successful, the fundraiser would help cover the costs of relocating, renovating, and keeping staff employed. In the meantime, they’ve been buoyed by support not just from London but from all over the country — and from many who have never even visited the shop.
“We have been humbled by your generosity and support,” they wrote. “To those of you that have offered your professional services regarding lease advice, interior design, architectural help, storage — we will be in touch and take advantage of this.”
You can find their donation page and updates on Seabass Cycles’ Instagram and their crowdfunding page.
Today’s racing roundup: Lapeira snatches Poland stage win, Adrià surprises in Burgos opener amidst Del Toro-Ciccone crash in final corner
A punchy uphill finish in Karpacz gave Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale’ Paul Lapeira the biggest win of his season so far, and the overall lead at the Tour of Poland, as the Frenchman timed his sprint perfectly to overhaul early launchers Jan Christen and Maxim Van Gils.
Paul Lapeira steals victory in the uphill sprint finish to Stage 2 of the Tour of Poland! 😱 pic.twitter.com/sJ3SDRRaYr
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) August 5, 2025
Meanwhile, at the Vuelta a Burgos, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Roger Adrià pulled off a surprise win at the Alto del Castillo ahead of Jordan Labrosse — a result overshadowed by a crash that took down UAE’s Isaac del Toro and Lidl-Trek’s Giulio Ciccone in the final corner.
Etapa 1 | 👣 Camino de Santiago
🏁 Último km coronando el Alto del Castillo (#Burgos) 💜💪
🥇 @rogeradria_ – @RBH_ProCycling
🥈 @LabrosseJordan – @decathlonAG2RLM
🥉 Afonso Eulálio – @BHRVictorious #UCIProSeries #VueltaBurgos pic.twitter.com/H8W1vofSZH— Vuelta a Burgos (@VueltaBurgos) August 5, 2025
Del Toro, tipped by many to be a GC contender, appeared to misjudge his line and lost his rear wheel, bringing down Clásica San Sebastián winner Ciccone along too.
Isaac Del Toro and Giulio Ciccone crashing in the Vuelta a Burgos final 😩 #VueltaBurgos
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) August 5, 2025
Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lane? Because it’s been turned into a New York ice cream van stand
You’d think we’d run out of ways to block a bike lane by now. We’ve had a man set up a table saw workshop in one in Sydney, a school bus driver take a nap in one in Queens, an Amazon van driver occupy one for 15 minutes while daring anyone to complain, and, of course, the Suffolk farmer who dumped 700 tonnes of sugar beet into one and called it “a temporary solution.”
But America’s biggest city wasn’t about to be outdone. In the latest instalment of our long-running ‘Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lane?’ series, Central Park’s protected bike lane has been quietly repurposed into an open-air soft-serve stand — complete with long queues, parked ice cream vans, and customers standing right in the way of oncoming bikes.
According to Gothamist, the problem has become so common that Councilmember Gale Brewer recently dispatched staff to conduct a six-day tally of illegally parked ice cream vendors on Central Park West and Central Park South. Of the 31 vans observed, 19 were parked either directly in the protected bike lane or in the buffer zone next to it.
Brewer said. ““I like the ice cream, but if you stand next to [a truck] getting ice cream, you are in the bike lane.”
And the workaround? “I guess if you’re really conscious of the bike lane, you stand on the sidewalk and shout to the gentleman,” she added. “But then you still have to pay him, and in order to pay him, you have to go in the bike lane.”
It would be funny if it weren’t so dangerous. Brewer said she has witnessed “very close calls” between cyclists and customers, and has since written to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch requesting action.
In her letter, dated 17 July, Brewer acknowledged that it’s natural for ice cream vendors to park near the park on hot days — but insisted that “alternate, safe parking sites” must be found before someone gets hurt.
So far, the NYPD has said only that it is reviewing her letter.
As Gothamist points out, the stretch of Central Park West in question is not just any bike lane, it was installed between 2019 and 2020 following the death of Madison Jane Lyden, a 23-year-old Australian cyclist who was killed when a livery cab swerved into a then-unprotected lane and forced her into traffic. Her death directly led to the creation of the protected lane now being used as a makeshift dessert plaza.
Brewer says she doesn’t yet have a clear solution — but suggests the vans could perhaps park across the street, or even inside the park itself. What’s needed, she said, is coordination between the NYPD, Parks Department, and Department of Transportation.
“Everybody has to sit down and figure it out,” she told Gothamist. “This is not an easy one to find an alternative for, but it is one to bring up before somebody gets hurt.”
So, back to the question: why don’t cyclists use the cycle lane? Well, because Mister Softee’s doing brisk business, and who are we to interrupt trade in the free market?
The wolf’s out of the pack: Remco Evenepoel to leave Soudal Quick-Step for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe at end of season, team confirms
The worst-kept secret of this year’s transfer season is finally official: Remco Evenepoel will leave Soudal Quick-Step at the end of the 2025 season to join Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, with his current team confirming the move in a statement this evening.
According to Quick-Step’s statement, representatives of the 25-year-old Belgian, who is still under contract until the end of 2026, informed management that he had no interest in discussing an extension, prompting a series of negotiations between teams, sponsors and stakeholders.
With Soudal Quick-Step ultimately deciding not to stand in the way of a hefty transfer deal, the path is now clear for Evenepoel to join the Austrian-backed outfit this winter.
Quick-Step added: “Since its inception in 2003, our team has seen many iterations and changes, while continuing to develop into one of the most successful teams in the history of professional cycling and recently became the first professional cycling team to reach 1000 UCI wins. While we regret Remco’s decision to leave, we will foster the memories that we have made and will continue to strive together to achieve some significant results for the rest of the season.
“We strongly believe in the team spirit that earned us the title of the Wolfpack and we will continue to strive to be a collective that is stronger than any one individual. We would like to place on record our thanks to our sponsors and partners that have supported us throughout this process and will continue to do so in the future.”
While the official line is polite and professional — all warm thanks, mutual respect, and wistful nods to “memories made” — the move has been long in the making. For months, signs have pointed in only one direction.
Most notably, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have been quietly but unmistakably clearing house. Last week, the team parted ways with chief of sports Rolf Aldag — a figure central to their stage racing strategy in recent years — before announcing that Sven Vanthourenhout, Evenepoel’s coach with the Belgian national team, would be joining as one of its new sports directors.
Just days later, directeur sportif Enrico Gasparotto — who oversaw Jai Hindley’s Giro d’Italia win in 2022 — also left the squad. The team called it a “realignment of sporting direction.” Everyone else called it what it was: preparation.
Evenepoel’s move marks the end of an era for Soudal Quick-Step — a team that signed him as a prodigy and helped him rise to global stardom. Under Patrick Lefevere’s watch, Evenepoel went from time trial specialist and one-day wildcard to Grand Tour winner and double Olympic champion.
But while his achievements have continued to grow, so too has the sense that his ambitions — especially in the mountains — have begun to outstrip what Soudal Quick-Step could consistently offer in support.
That tension was on full display at this year’s Tour de France. Evenepoel impressed in the early stages, winning the time trial in Caen and sitting third on GC. But as the race hit the high mountains, he faded, struggled with fatigue, and eventually abandoned on stage 14 to Superbagnères. Just earlier in the day, he returned to training (and to Strava) with a cryptic Werenoi lyric and a not-so-cryptic subheading: “Coming back at y’all.”
The transfer also ends months of speculation around the financial mechanics of such a deal. Reports suggest that Evenepoel will personally buy out the final year of his contract for around €5 million, while Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe will contribute an additional €2 million fee to Soudal Quick-Step.
"It's cost him over £1,000": Driver's court date for close passing cyclist ends with bonus harassment conviction... after he abused victim on the train home
“He saved the race!”: Bizarre scenes as spectator leaps over race barriers to collect jumper seconds before bunch sprint
Just when you thought the Tour of Poland couldn’t get any more… Tour of Poland, someone decided to leap over the barriers during yesterday’s bunch sprint to retrieve a jumper. That’s right — a jumper. Not a person jumping. A literal piece of clothing.
With a dog already having caused a mini panic attack in the peloton, the riders were thundering towards the line in Legnica — Olav Kooij seemingly lining up his winning move — when a man climbed onto the course with about 50 metres to go, bent down to grab the garment, and then clambered back over the hoardings just in time.
Seconds later, and we could have had a full-speed disaster…
“He got lucky with his jumper,” said the TNT Sports commentator. “Got out of the way in time. Only just though — my goodness me.”
Visma-Lease a Bike’s Olav Kooij went on to win the stage, surging clear with 200 metres to go to take his sixth victory of the season ahead of Paul Magnier and Jenson Plowright. But for a moment, it looked like someone might upstage him in the most catastrophically stupid way possible.
A handful of viewers defended the intervention. “Better take a risk before somebody’s wheel sucks that cloth up and brings 20 people down,” wrote one. Another said: “If he had left it there, most likely the cyclists would have tripped. He saved the race!”
Others were less amused: “Something simple like that could end someone’s career/race/life — or worse, kill someone full out sprinting at 50km/hour.”
One user, Joop Ruiter, expressed his frustration: “This went quite well. But why do these kinds of stupid things always keep happening? When you know the peloton is approaching, you don’t ever, never step on the parcours. The speed of the peloton is much bigger than you can imagine.”
And then came a different theory altogether, that this wasn’t a reckless fan, but a race marshal. Jan suggested: “It’s not a fan but a security marshal doing exactly what he is there for: securing the track. You can even see the race badge on his neck.”
That was corroborated by Chris Eddy, who said he was right there when it happened: “This was actually right in front of me today. Another spectator had thrown a water bomb onto the road. The security guy was already on that side of the fence — he was cleaning it up with his own jumper.”
So who was he? Jumper thief or jumper hero? It’s still not entirely clear. But it does confirm one thing: the Tour of Poland’s commitment to absolute unpredictability remains as strong as ever.
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Is this another ploy to distract the media from crypto funding sleaze and racist attitudes of many Reform UK candidates? Presumably he will claim that all bike theft is committed by small boats asylum seekers.
I guess a Reform govt could achieve their twin objectives by banning bicycles entirely, and then also not need to stump up the cash for additional prison places.
This was an interesting read. The happiness scores of female riders and staff were higher in both the 2023 and 2025 surveys. Is there anything useful that could be learned from that? From my experiences in the workplace, lower levels of happiness could be caused by a fairly simple change,such as the appointment of a new operations director, or an initiative to cut budgets. The question then is does the company recognise this and is it willing to act on it? There are many times when I've thought work was stressful and unpleasant, but sometimes that is to be expected and it was what I got paid for, but at least I could leave in the evening and go and do something else such as athletics or cycling. Presumably this is a lot more difficult for professional sportspeople. Cyclists' happiness is also going to be influenced by current performance levels and selection and more roller coaster in nature. Certainly more up and down than many other forms of employment. I think having the regular happiness surveys in place is obviously a major step forward. Clearly there are issues to address. Staff and cyclists witnessing "unacceptable" or "thoughtless" etc behaviour is concerning and needs to be acted upon. But maybe claiming that the culture "Remains toxic" is an exaggeration. The satisfaction levels were higher in 2023.
@Blackthorne83 Have you an inside track or is this just supposition? He's not young and perhaps he is indeed an ar$e. Maybe he's a racist, maybe he isn't. I'm sure it will all come out. If you stick a national jersey on, there is an inevitable responsibility to think more carefully how you speak and behave. Don't get yourself into a position of risk to start with.
@MatzeLoCal Spot on. No request should be necessary. The testers, upon hearing the circumstances, should have 1. Paid respects 2. Rescheduled
Fantastic result, and a great write up, thank you
@matthewn5 I'm talking about carbon crank AXLES, not spiders. SRAM axles are aluminum (29 or 30mm versions) or steel (24/22mm GXP); Campag are steel (most models) or titanium (Super Record). Are there any other brands using carbon axles?
@ROOTminus1 Lake wide fit - CX239 would probably be ok for you. I wear the normal width and they are roomy, the wide ones accommodate lardy feet. And who wears road shoes with laces? That's just wrong, 2x boas or stay home.
@chrisonabike Any excuse to repeat my favourite quote from Bertie Wooster, when he took on Spode (Lord Sidcup) who had started a fascist movement called the Blackshorts: "The trouble with you, Spode, is that just because you have succeeded in inducing a handful of half-wits to disfigure the London scene by going about in black shorts, you think you're someone. You hear them shouting "Heil, Spode!" and you imagine it is the Voice of the People. That is where you make your bloomer. What the Voice of the People is saying is: "Look at that frightful ass Spode swanking about in footer bags! Did you ever in your puff see such a perfect perisher?”
@mdavidford more cheap lists-icles.
7 thoughts on ““He saved the race!”: Bizarre scenes as spectator leaps over race barriers to collect jumper seconds before bunch sprint; Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lane? Because it’s been turned into a New York ice cream truck stand + more on the live blog”
That ice cream van in the
That ice cream van in the bike lane is nothing new to Londoners: for years now there’s been a van parked on the south end of Westminster Bridge in the lefthand road lane, so all the customers queue in the (already inadequate width) bike lane. Council says it’s a police matter, police say it’s a local authority matter. Parking wardens ignore it. There was one doing a similar thing on the south end of Albert Bridge for a long time but haven’t seen him for a while – perhaps he got fed up with a certain cyclist who gave its roadside side a series of good loud bangs with the flat of his hand every time he rode past…
Well done Adwitiya, you’ve
Well done Adwitiya, you’ve done it again.
“It was installed between 2019 and 2020 following the death of Madison Jane Lyden, a 23-year-old Australian cyclist who was killed when a livery cab swerved into a then-unprotected lane and forced her into traffic. “
Damn those self-driving/autonomous livery cabs with no humans at the wheel.
FFS, give it a rest will you.
FFS, give it a rest will you. For anyone reading this, it’s perfectly self-evident that said cab had a human at the wheel.
Lots of people do naturally
Lots of people do naturally talk or write about vehicles doing things – it’s an easy trap to fall into.
On balance, I think language is important, and ideally we should remember to mention the acts of the driver not just the vehicle.
Groenewegen didn’t do much in
Groenewegen didn’t do much in the Tour de France. Unfortunately he appears to be on a downward curve.
Remco Evenepoel officially
Remco Evenepoel officially leaving Levevre’s team and off to RedBull-Hansgrohe next year: https://www.indeleiderstrui.nl/wielrennen/kogel-door-de-kerk-soudal-quick-step-maakt-uitgaande-transfer-remco-evenepoel-wereldkundig
Paul J wrote:
Not Lefevre’s team any more, Zdenek Bakala bought his shareholding and Jurgen Foré took over as CEO at the beginning of this year.