Pidcock “worried about friends” on Israel-Premier Tech; “Cyclists should be banned” from road after collision with lorry driver… according to Facebook comments; World Championships preview as riders to use GPS tracking + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Cyclists should be banned" from Tarvie A-road after collision with lorry driver...according to Facebook comments
Today’s quota of internet frothing comes courtesy of the Ross-shire Journal’s comments section on an article reporting that a cyclist has been seriously injured and taken to hospital following a collision with a lorry driver.
The incident occurred on the A835 near Tarvie in the Highlands. The road, known locally for its ‘Tarvie corkscrew’ is no stranger to traffic collisions, with the same local outlet reporting earlier this year that the same stretch of road also saw the most collisions of any road in Scotland in 2023, and that the raw number of incidents is at a 10-year-high. The solution therefore: ban cyclists – according to the comments on social media.
Dan Urquhart wrote: “Cyclists should be banned on the A835 until a proper cycle path can be built. It’s the only solution to a safer road.”
Pete Bude added: “All cyclists should have a glow bright jacket with there own number on as like a car number plate a public liability insurance.”
Bill Barron suggested: “Cyclists should use the train to Garve if wanting to cycle to Ullapool. The road is better after Garve.”
Gary Parker went further:
“All cyclists should have a rear view mirror, a road worthy certificate, tax & insurance a road legal identification number, but mostly a written & practical test license.
Until then band [sic] them from all roads.”
Amid the anger and blame thrown towards cyclists there were a couple of more sympathetic commenters.
Robyn Thegrate added: “Obviously it would cost but there should be a bike path all the way to Ullapool. It would be used by lots of people not just tourists.”
David Miller (no, not that one) wrote: “Easiest way to get space for a cyclepath is to reduce the road to single lane with passing places.”
Alisdair Campbell meanwhile took issue with the story’s framing, writing “Teaching of patience to drivers probably needed.”
It’s amazing how when you pick out a variety of comments, you’re able to pick out a broad spectrum of opinion, maybe do your blood pressure a favour and give the wider comments (nearly 400 of them!) a miss.
UCI to use GPS tracking at World Championships
Some better safety news now, and it comes from the UCI. Remember the Women’s Tour de Romandie which saw five teams disqualified after a row over GPS trackers and who was to apply and use them?
Well, despite that fiasco, the result of the trial at that race is that the UCI is now able to state that “All riders in all categories (Men and Women Elite, Under 23 and Junior) will be equipped with a GPS safety tracking device attached under their saddle” during the 2025 World Championships in Rwanda which get underway this weekend.
The dispute at the Tour de Romandie centred over which riders would be fitted with the trackers, with the UCI only wanting to fit one tracker per team, and the disqualified teams refusing to take responsibility for choosing the rider selected and the fitting of the device. But with every rider now mandated to wear trackers, this issue seems moot.
The move is poignant considering the championships will occur one year after the death of junior athlete Muriel Furrer.
Furrer, riding her home World Championships, crashed off-course and wasn’t found for more than an hour. The lack of GPS tracking was subsequently cited as a key factor in the delay in finding Furrer and taking her to hospital where she died the following day.
The system was designed in consultation with SafeR, a coalition of several stakeholders in the peloton (riders, teams and race organsiers) with the intention of reducing the safety risks to riders. These consultations accelerated with the election of former rider Adam Hansen as president of the riders union, the CPA. Following the death of Gino Mäder, at the Tour de Suisse in 2023, those conversations took on a greater urgency.
The trackers will be operated and monitored from the UCI’s race control centre. In announcing the move, UCI President David Lappartient says “The UCI, together with SafeR and in close collaboration with all stakeholders of professional road cycling, is constantly working to improve the safety of riders.
“The introduction of a GPS safety tracking system for riders is important and necessary progress in this regard. Thanks to this system, any incident or accident that might have gone unnoticed can be quickly identified.”
Fingers crossed this measure can prevent similar tragedies occurring in the future.
'We want the most confusing email headline outlining our Vuelta achievements possible...no that's too confusing'
Q36.5 had their best ever results at the weekend, with Tom Pidcock securing the first ever Grand Tour podium for both himself and the team. It’s the first time any second-division team has achieved a Grand Tour podium since 2010 (or 2009 factoring in doping bans).
Pidcock himself came close to winning a stage on a couple of occasions so there were a wide variety of headlines to go with on their latest press release. So, what do they pick?
1647 UCI Points. My favourite metric, nothing screams success like it. I had a lecturer once who said I should never write a number without making clear if it was a big number or not.
Besides all that, no one really knows what UCI Points are. Even journalists pretend to know what they mean. It won’t even be enough for a World Tour license for the next three years. It feels like an email headline tailored for one Swiss executive who has made it their mission to ensure Q36.5 gain enough points to make a pretty line graph. In which case, mission accomplished.
Drivers want more bike lanes as Gen Z drivers are most nervous around cyclists - new survey finds
After last week’s tube strikes saw record numbers of Londoners take to the bike, a new survey suggests that drivers actually want better cycling infrastructure, and overwhelmingly so.
79% of drivers are high risk on the road, with two thirds of those surveyed saying they want more bike lanes in the city.
It’s not all rosy though with the same survey also finding more drivers believe cyclists don’t follow traffic rules than do (44% to 41%). 82% meanwhile thought that cyclists were putting themselves in danger by not wearing reflective gear, protective equipment or using lights. 56% felt nervous sharing the road with cyclists, with Gen Z drivers the most skittish, whilst two-fifths thought they shouldn’t be on the road at all.
The Censuswide survey of 1000 drivers, conducted for Cycleplan, also found drivers in Newcastle, Liverpool and Edinburgh most respectful of cyclists, whilst drivers were most supportive of new bike infrastructure in Sheffield, Plymouth and Cardiff. Something for everyone there.
Paris-Roubaix repairs begin in earnest
Before 👉 After 💪 pic.twitter.com/qB8IduvIBL
— Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix (@A_ParisRoubaix) September 19, 2025
No goats in sight just yet, but the friends of Paris-Roubaix have already started their repairs of the iconic cobbles. Whether they will have the effect of gaining or losing stars from each secteur we will have to wait and see.
World Championships TT preview:
Let’s look ahead to the World Championships which get started this weekend with the Individual Time Trials. The first elite championships to take place in Africa, Rwanda’s hosting of the Worlds is not without controversy, and several big names will not be lining up at the start line, citing distance and logistical complications.
A certain couple will be lining up on Sunday, and have already been spotted doing reconnaissance.
Tadej Pogačar already at course recon for Worlds ITT also with Urška. 🇷🇼🌈 #Kigali2025 pic.twitter.com/Si29rHl2W1
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) September 19, 2025
The women will set off first on Sunday morning and alongside Urška Žigart are former World Champions Chloe Dygert and Anna van der Breggen, Tour de France winners Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma and multiple European champion Marlen Reusser.
British hopes will rest on Anna Henderson, Olympic silver medallist from Paris and the only elite woman selected by Team GB for these entire championships, with national selectors instead opting to field a stacked team of riders in the under-23 races. Admin is meanwhile rooting for Anna Kiesenhofer, the Olympic Road Race champion from Tokyo who now combines her favourite discipline of the TT with coaching for Team Picnic PostNL.
For the men, Tadej Pogačar’s presence will send a shiver down the spine of reigning champion Remco Evenepoel. The 40km course is hilly enough to tempt the Slovenian to attempt the TT-Road Race double and, without Filippo Ganna racing these championships, the title will almost certainly come down to these two.
An outside bet might be Jay Vine. The Australian is fresh off two stage wins in the Vuelta a España and a second place to Ganna by less than a second in the race’s only individual TT. Other podium contenders include his compatriot Luke Plapp, Ineos and America’s Magnus Sheffield, and Stefan Küng who has five top-10s from the last six years, including a second and third place. The course might be just a little too hard for the Swiss specialist though.
Without any Brits riding, admin will be cheering for Estonian Rein Taaramäe. A former Giro and Vuelta stage winner, the 38-year-old left the World Tour last year and now rides for a Japanese Continental team. He’s also a long-term supporter of Rwandan cycling, regularly visiting and donating his team equipment and clothing. Sunday will likely be as much a celebration as it is a competition for Taaramäe.
Friday racing round-up: it's the Lidl wins that count
Lidl-Trek have been in fine form today, with two victories within the 15 minutes of one another.
First, Mattias Skjelmose took victory and the race lead on the third stage of the Tour of Luxembourg. The Dane outkicked TotalEnergies’ Jordan Jegat on the uphill finish and now sits four seconds ahead of the Frenchman on the general classification courtesy of bonus seconds. The race, which finishes on Sunday, will likely come down to tomorrow’s 26.3km Time Trial. Skjelmose’s strongest rival will likely be UAE’s Brandon McNulty, fresh from winning the GP Montreal, who will only need to make up eight seconds to take the race lead.
Jonathan Milan was never going to be at the World Championships in Rwanda, and the Italian has instead kickstarted his autumn campaign with victory at the one-day Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen (Flanders Championship), outsprinting Dylan Groenewegen and Tim Merlier to take his ninth win of the season.
The best Brit meanwhile was Matt Walls, finishing third on stage three’s bunch sprint at the Okolo Slovenska (Tour of Slovakia). Walls was unable to stop Soudal-Quick Step’s Paul Magnier taking his third win in a row.
Tom Pidcock: "I worry about my friends who ride for the Israel team"
Fresh from his Vuelta a España podium and gearing up for the World Championships in Rwanda, Tom Pidcock says protestors in Spain did not “think about the consequences of what they were doing” adding that he “worried about his friends who ride for the Israel team.”
Speaking to the BBC, Pidcock described how tacks were thrown on the road, riders were pushed off their bikes and he was hit in the face by a flag during his time trial.
But the Yorkshireman also cuts a relaxed figure, adding that he’s “not worried about it” and that it’s a shame we get mixed up in it all.”
“I think sport is about escape for people… light-hearted entertainment.
“For it to be so serious and every day you’re not sure where you’ll finish makes it all more difficult to do our passion.”
Pidcock is expected to co-lead Great Britain’s squad in the road race in nine days time alongside Oscar Onley, who finished fourth in the Tour de France. He is included in a nine-man team made up predominantly of climbers on what is the hilliest World Championships course in recent memory.
The World Championships are also unlikely to be disrupted due to protests. Rwanda is an authoritarian dictatorship where public and political dissent is heavily suppressed.
19 September 2025, 08:44
19 September 2025, 08:44
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@Smoggysteve "Most would happily ride on the roads and be treated with respect by drivers". But people aren't - and as far as I can see they won't be. Not until there is a lot less driving and it's slower around cyclists, and far more people driving have "skin in the game" eg. they sometimes cycle and their friends and family do also. That's what leads to the model - which is perhaps most advanced in NL - where cycling, walking and driving are all seen as separate normal transport modes. Their needs, vulnerabilities and any dangers to others are considered. And *that* leads to "mix / share when possible, separate when necessary". But "possible" is "where your 10-year old would be safe to cycle unsupervised" - so very few motor vehicles, going slow! And AFAICS everybody - even "existing cyclists" - is happy with the result. (I dunno about a few pro cyclists - but don't they tend to have training camps in different counties anyway?)
@quiff as an Edinburgh resident I can confidently say he's speaking without moving his lips in one sense: - while as I noted in a separate comment there *is* now some real separated cycle infra, all the examples i can think of have *at least as much space* for pedestrians. The rest of the "cycle infra" is essentially similar to the situation in the rest of the UK: eg. bus lanes*, cycle lanes and shared use paths (eg. "build" infra by sticking up a sign). Edinburgh is one of the places with a moderately extensive network of former railways which have been converted to "shared use" paths (completely motor traffic few). However though shared they are not narrow by UK standards. And this is all effectively a "free extra" for all non- motorised users, not like the "sign a cycle path" where pedestrians do lose space. I think this all comes from the "popular understanding" of cycling in which ultimately cyclists are the "other". They don't fit "motor vehicle" or "pedestrian" (including wheelchairs on the very rare occasions people think about that). Thus "cyclists are cheating" in multiple ways! They shouldn't get their own space as "there aren't enough" of them. And "they can just use the road / path". But being able to *choose* "on the road" or "on the footway" (shared use path) is clearly unfair - nobody else gets to do that! BUT of course even if they did pick just one of road OR pedestrian space it's still not fair anyway because they're "too slow" for the road (don't pay "road tax" etc...) and "far too fast" for pedestrians... * Though some existing cyclists may appreciate them when there are few buses, buses and bikes are a very poor mix for several reasons.
Whilst a shame for any employees, their bib shorts had the worst chamois pad I’d ever encountered, utter waste of my money. Even though they were Strava challenge discount purchases, still a waste of money.
Thanks, just going to have to suck it up. Got next week off and will take the easy, if expensive option...
@ktache Just go for the TNT Sports only package, £30.99 for a month. Alternatively have you considered experimenting with a VPN for a few pounds, allowing you to sign up for a free stream abroad, e.g. SBS Australia which streams the Tour live? If I didn't have a kind mate's login that's what I'd do!
So, it's now the month of July and I'm going to have to pay to watch the TdF, for one month only. On a tablet unfortunately, as I didn't manage to get a laptop to rig up to the TV, grrr. Just wondering, what package will I have to fork out for? Not wanting to pay for the wrong one...
Not that it sounds like a dealbreaker given the other faults you've identified, but that cable isn't really a "proprietary" cable, four pin magnetic cables like that are quite common on bone-conducting headphones and other devices (my inexpensive smartwatch uses one) and they can be had for £4.99 on UK Amazon.
There was never really anything to say about le col kit. Most of it was alright. Some of it was poorly designed/made. Trying to position yourself as a Rapha competitor whilst always offering 40% or more off doesn't scream premium though.
Up next in the MucOff product line; for when the cassette won't budge, (chain)whip-it!
30 thoughts on “Pidcock “worried about friends” on Israel-Premier Tech; “Cyclists should be banned” from road after collision with lorry driver… according to Facebook comments; World Championships preview as riders to use GPS tracking + more on the live blog”
“Cyclists should be banned”
“Cyclists should be banned”
As always, the drivers get the solution the wrong way around.
Problem: Drivers crashing into things, each other and cyclists. Answer: ban cyclists. It’s taken generations to get to this level of driver entitlement, it’s going to take a long time to change it.
Certain people have always
Certain people have always felt a sense of entitlement and anything where they are made to feel some form of responsibility it is automatically the other party at fault, regadless of any facts, rules or principles. This is why we have so many people driving when banned or on illegal plates. They are also likely to complain vocally when money is spent on improvments to help or protect others.
If drivers could be trusted
If drivers could be trusted to drive safely around other road users we wouldn’t have speed limits, speed cameras, speed humps, traffic calming, traffic lights, roundabouts, zebra crossings etc. And we wouldn’t need cycle lanes. Especially in London but also elsewhere drivers through their attrocious driving have brought this woeful situation upon themselves where road space is taken away from them. Try finding a wands “protecting” a cycle lane that hasn’t been either scuffed or partially/completely destroyed by careless drivers who seem to have enormous difficulty placing their vehicle safely. Rant over I guess until the next one.
Pub bike wrote:
Did the UCI manage to cock-up
Did the UCI manage to cock-up GPS tracker use again? Wouldn’t the tracker be better placed on the rider, instead of bike?
I think there is more than
I think there is more than one Tarvie in Scotland. The A835 Tarvie isn’t in Perth and Kinross, but in Highland. The A835 runs from Tore, north of Inverness, to Ullapool and beyond.
I have cycled this road in the past. It is nowhere near the top of my list of roads where I have felt uncomfortable. I drove along it a couple of times last month while heading for a multi day cycling trip starting from Ullapool. What I did see were cars that wanted to go very quickly, faster than I was comforatble driving at. I did pass a number of cyclists on the road when I was heading south. With a little patience, it wasn’t difficult to pass them safely.
Quote:
Was that lecturer Tim Harford?
Quote:
First of all, for a sample of 1000, I suspect that’s going to mean they were within margin of error of each other, so ‘about as many’ would probably be a better way of putting it..
Secondly, if they literally asked “Do cyclists follow traffic rules? [Yes] [No]” then it’s a dumb question – pretty obviously to anyone with an ounce of sense, the answer’s going to be “Some of the time, some more than others” (as it would be if you inserted any other type of road user). No-one follows the rules perfectly, and no group of road users is homogenous.
In a way, if you interpreted it as 41% of people think that all cyclists follow the rules perfectly at all times, it would represent a very positive (if highly optimistic) view of cyclists.
mdavidford wrote:
First of all, for a sample of 1000, I suspect that’s going to mean they were within margin of error of each other, so ‘about as many’ would probably be a better way of putting it..
Two-tailed p=0.32, if you like that sort of thing. I guess they didn’t try to publish in an APA journal 🙂
“Nearly all Ulez fine evaders
“Nearly all Ulez fine evaders are persistent – TfL
Almost all penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued for non-payment of Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) charges involve persistent evaders, Transport for London (TfL) says.
Some 94% of PCNs have been issued to drivers with more than four outstanding notices….”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0ezpjlz0jzo
How long untill all CCTV, including those of petrol stations – which is what I’ve been advocating for years, will be tied into the national driver and vehicle databases so that any wanted drivers and tagged/cloned plated vehicles are more easily traced?
There’s no point reading
There’s no point reading stuff on social media / local news etc about cycling.
It always boils down to the same comment: cyclist at fault.
“Well if the cyclist wasn’t
“Well if the cyclist wasn’t there…” is basically the argument for everything. Imagine if every crime was treated that way. “Well m’lud, if the victim wasn’t at home when my client tried to burgle them we wouldn’t be sitting here today. Perhaps if home owners put a “we’re out” sign up when they leave, we wouldn’t have this problem.
Well, logically it should
Well, logically it should also be “if the car wasn’t there…”
To be fair … there’s more
To be fair … there’s more chance of a burglary making it past the Procurator Fiscal than an incident involving a cyclist.
Police Scotland only attend cycling incidents when they have nothing else to do, and can’t get around it.
Not that I’m jaded against Police Scotland .. just had … experience.
Tell you what we should do is
Tell you what we should do is reduce the speed limits to sensible levels on our roads. Then again, perhaps 60 is the logical limit for cars on country lanes that can fit 1.5 cars on them and have countless blind corners.
mctrials23 wrote:
I see you … be bold! Assuming (!) there are more sensible drivers than nutters let’s increase it to 200!
Like in chemotherapy both the healthy and malevolent will die, but it should selectively remove the latter and (hopefully) they will be gone before the former.
Sad for all the vulnerable road users, livestock, wildlife, buildings though…
Now the longer nights are
Now the longer nights are coming it’s time for the annual advice for drivers to paint their cars a bright colour and to always carry a high-vis jacket in case they need to step out of their car in the dark.
bensynnock wrote:
And this one never gets old either
chrisonabike wrote:
And the comments are wonderful.
Om my goodness. So much
Om my goodness. So much scrolling and it just keeps going.
momove wrote:
Wait “till you see the “Car crashes into Building” thread here…
Not to mention all
Not to mention all pedestrians MUST wear day glow/night glow/hi-viz head-to-toe, as well as a flashing led white light to the front and a red flashing led on their back, and a helmet, and a certificate of competency when crossing the road?
Too many cars and lorries are being damaged when hit by pedestrians!
Priceless from Gary Parker –
Priceless from Gary Parker – let’s hope he grows at least a 2nd brain cell soon.
“All cyclists should have a rear view mirror, a road worthy certificate, tax & insurance a road legal identification number, but mostly a written & practical test license.
Until then band [sic] them from all roads.”
Where does one get one of
Where does one get one of these road worthy certificates? And do you then need a second certificate to certify the first one’s road-worthiness, or are they self-certifying?
Or am I misunderstanding the whole thing, and it certifies that you are a worthy of the road (and is presumably accompanied by the right to wear a tricorn hat and suitable regalia)?
mdavidford wrote:
Correct!
Cyclists aren’t worthy of the
Cyclists aren’t worthy of the road, as any motorist kno. Road worthy certificates are only for drivers.
> The World Championships are
> The World Championships are also unlikely to be disrupted due to protests.
> Rwanda is an authoritarian dictatorship where public and political dissent is
> heavily suppressed.
In other news, the Vuelta relocating to Saudi Arabia for 2026.
Gosh I hope the lorry was ok
Gosh I hope the lorry was ok
Pete Bude added: “All
Pete Bude added: “All cyclists should have a glow bright jacket with there own number on as like a car number plate a public liability insurance.”
Pete certainly sounds like an intelligent, well balanced lad.
That reads like it was written by someone with the intelligence of a fucking five year old for Christ’s sake.
I concur, I cycle to work and
I concur, I cycle to work and categorically refuse to wear “hi-viz” or “glow bright” (as I shall now always call it) for the following reasons:
1. It doesn’t work
2. It has been proven to “dehumanise cyclists’ and therefore make them more vulnerable.
3. You look like a 80’s rave reject.
4. Motorists are always banging on about “cyclists must wear hi-viz (glow bright 😎).
I think the local cycling group should ride 2 abreast up and down the road and campaign for a 20mph speed limit every weekend until Christmas?