Name of Ineos doping links carer spotted on special Geraint Thomas retirement jersey in ‘friends’ section; Tom Pidcock accused of “setting bad example” by overtaking driver; Pogačar’s Gary Glitter gaffe; Kids’ bike parking slammed + more on the live blog

Another clip to add to the ‘Why we love cyclocross’ pile:

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Tyler Morgenson (@tylerm_cx_mtb)

Now, I’ll admit it – one of my pet peeves is people getting into Halloween too early (seriously, it should be one day max, for children. You’re an adult, and you’re not American, stop trying to make Halloween a thing. Hold on, where was I?).

Anyway… The one upside of Glasgow-based cyclist Keith Fuller going all spooky on his electric cargo bike one week into October is at least no motorist can pull the classic ‘sorry mate, didn’t see you there’ on him for the next few weeks:

It’s October, so the Halloween #bike is back.
#gsd pic.twitter.com/h6gOB858mL

— Keith Fuller (@kfullermusic) October 7, 2025

Can’t wait for the Christmas edition. Oh wait, I very much can wait – Keith, if you put one single Christmas decoration on that bike before 1 December, I’m coming to Glasgow to have a word… 

> Mason unveils Definition Integrale endurance bike: a sportier evolution of its aluminium classic

We all know Tadej Pogačar has a broad and varied taste in music, which he loves to showcase on his Instagram feed.

Over the last few weeks alone, we’ve been treated to snippets of the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Green Day, Eminem and Public Enemy alongside photos and videos of the world champion’s training rides and suspense-destroying solo victories.

But, when it came to picking a song to commemorate his win yesterday at the Tre Valli Varesine, his choice of artist is… interesting to say the least:

Oops. Where’s UAE’s social media team when you need them?

Or maybe Tadej thought he was picking the Led Zeppelin song, or got it confused with Oasis’ Rock and Roll Star? He was born in 1998 after all…

It seems everyone is talking about crowd behaviour in cycling these days.

At the Vuelta, a race which descended into chaos and a flurry of re-routed or aborted stages, pro-Palestine protests – and the dangers of demonstrators blocking roads and running into the peloton – dominated discussion, as riders voiced safety concerns and doubts emerged over the Tour de France’s planned Grand Départ in Barcelona next year.

But on Sunday, at the European championships, attention turned to the more traditional form of rowdy crowd behaviour associated with bike races: spectators being drunken arses, running alongside and touching riders, slapping stickers on Pogačar’s back, and, well, showing their arses on TV.

> “This is stupid”: Tadej Pogačar dodges bare-arsed spectator and has stickers put on his back during European Championships win

So, what’s the answer to cycling’s current safety problem? Well, according to the organisers of racing series Formula Fixed, the solution is to simply move cycling indoors. Yes, really.

Formula Fixed, you may remember from our podcast on the series earlier this year, is a new US-based racing format held on tight, twisting, go-kart style circuits in a ticketed arena setting, featuring riders on bikes with fixed gears and no brakes. Or Mario Kart meets messenger culture, as their press releases say.

Interestingly, Formula Fixed hasn’t been immune to protests, with last month’s Oakland Grand Prix attracting criticism from opponents of trans women in sports, with former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies weighing in on the results of the fledgling series on Twitter.

> Why do we keep trying to turn cycling into other sports? Formula Fixed founder on reinventing bike racing for the TikTok generation, “trampling on tradition”, and why “big swings” are better than marginal gains

However, according to Formula Fixed’s founder James Grady, the dangers associated with political protests – and also idiots at the side of the road – are more pronounced in cycling’s traditional formats.

“It’s getting more dangerous out there,” Grady said in a statement this week. “The goal isn’t to start a debate. It’s to disrupt. These are massive events with open routes that can be exploited by bad actors.”

Grady also argued that as violent protest “gains more acceptance”, bike race organisers are being forced to rethink how and where they stage races.

“Most of us don’t have the resources to secure every stretch of a public road,” he said.

“That’s why indoor short-track racing, like the events we’ve been running inside arenas and enclosed venues, represents the future. It’s safer, it’s easier to control crowds, and it’s a far better product for broadcast.”

What you reckon? Is packing everything up from the roadside and moving it indoors really the key to making bike racing safer? To be honest, I can already imagine the responses…

> “They just smashed the window and pulled the bikes out”: Thieves steal bikes worth £35,000 from newly opened shop

A classic of the ‘murder strip’ (Belgian word of the year 2018, remember) genre here, courtesy of Chain Lane, in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire:

This is the Ugly: a narrow, painted cycle lane in between two traffic lanes on the approach to a busy junction. How would you redesign this? 3/3

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— Hedgehog Cycling (@hedgehogcycling.bsky.social) October 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM

“WTF!!! Who in their right mind would use it, never mind design it?” asked Mark, with the multi-million-pound question.

“I guess it comes from not wanting to allocate space to cycling,” Hedgehog Cycling replied. “You could have a cycle track leading to a waiting area, but it would mean taking space from motor vehicles.”

And we wouldn’t want to do that…

He’s not the first, and he certainly won’t be the last.

But Richie Porte has become the latest in a long line of former and current professional cyclists – including Lambo-loving Mathieu van der Poel, Aston Martin ambassador Mark Cavendish, and 4×4 fan David Millar – to pose for a snap with a fast or dangerously-sized motor vehicle.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Richie (@richie_porte)

The former Sky and BMC rider was snapped standing in front of a £60,000 Rapha-branded Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster, as he attended the British clothing company’s latest FAR ride in Castlemaine, near Melbourne.

I’m not sure the driver of that thing would be able to see Little Richie on the road in front of him…

I regret to inform you, the French have lost their minds again.

To be honest, it was always going to happen. Even the mere whiff of a decent top ten in a minor one-week race has France’s cycling community dreaming of 1985, Bernard Hinault, and La Marseillaise wafting down the Champs-Élysées.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s momentous Tour de France win this summer, rather than appease them, has only made French fans more delusional when it comes to the men’s race. Especially now that they have a potentially generational talent in Paul Seixas emerging, who could very well (whisper it) end those 40 years of hurt at their home grand tour.

But instead of letting young Seixas develop at his own pace – he just turned 19 last week and finished third behind Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel at the European championships for goodness’ sake – the pressure is already on.

This week, former pro Lilian Calmejane (a winner of a stage at the 2017 Tour de France) has taken to social media to pinpoint the factor that could hold Seixas back from reaching the very top – his Decathlon, Van Rysel bike set-up:

Read more: > “Cervélo or Specialized are faster”: Former pro cyclist claims Van Rysel “limiting” French wonderkid Paul Seixas — bike brand responds

Or how about, you know, just letting the kid develop at his own pace without claiming that it’s his bike that’s letting him down?

Cycle-counter CS3Count on the Embankment cycle lane in London at 3,364 cycle journeys at 08:29 this morning (137,108 since being reset). 14,954 cycle journeys yesterday. @cs3cs6count.bsky.social

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— Timothy (@westcountrytim.bsky.social) October 7, 2025 at 12:37 PM

If you post anything, and I mean anything, about cycling on the internet, chances are someone will leap into the comments for a prolonged, often vitriolic game of anti-cycling bingo.

And this week’s unprovoked social media ‘discussion’ about bikes comes courtesy of Felix, who just couldn’t help himself as he scrolled past a photo posted by Birmingham-based cycling instructor Tim, showing bikes belonging to the kids he’s currently teaching at a farm café in the Midlands.

“We introduced our advanced cycling group to the essential cycling skill today: stopping for coffee,” Tim wrote.

Credit: Tim on Two Wheels, Twitter

So far, so innocuous, right? Not for Felix, who couldn’t supress his anger at the sight of one or two hastily strewn children’s bikes.

“When do you get around to talking about parking your bike with more consideration for pedestrians?” he asked Tim.

“Your photograph shows bikes spread out in the same way I see every day outside shops when kids are about… and don’t get me started on Lime bikes abandoned all over Greater London.”

Clearly exasperated, Tim replied: “Today we were teaching children how to park their bikes using Sheffield stands.

“When anti-cycling trolls reply, why don’t they stop to think for a second? Oh. That makes sense.

“Cycles in the cycle parking area of a farm cafe in the Midlands countryside are just like Lime bikes in London. Hehehehehe.”

I wouldn’t have even bothered replying…

Not quite the finale the attacking Frenchman would have wanted after a decade in the peloton:

> Former Tour de France white jersey winner hit by lorry driver who “didn’t see him coming” while training for final race

After Oscar Onley’s breakthrough ride at the Tour de France this year, Picnic PostNL have moved to bolster their ever-growing roster of British and Irish talent with the signings of James Knox, Oliver Peace, and Dillon Corkery.

Knox’s move to Picnic has been on the cards for a while, and was first reported by Daniel Benson (who else?), the 29-year-old making the jump to the Dutch squad on a one-year deal after spending the entirety of his WorldTour career with Soudal Quick-Step, who he joined form Team Wiggins back in 2018.

Zac Williams/SWpix.com

Despite finishing a very promising 11th at his debut grand tour, the 2019 Vuelta, and following that up with 14th at the 2020 Giro, Knox has since settled into the role of a very reliable mountain domestique, riding nine three-week races for Soudal Quick-Step.

Knox will aim to play a valuable support role for both Scottish star Onley, who finished fourth at this year’s Tour, as well as fellow young British stage racing hopeful Max Poole, 11th at May’s Giro.

“What drew me to Picnic-PostNL is the opportunity to join a team with a proven track record at the highest level, and to work with talented young riders like fellow Brits Oscar Onley and Max Poole,” Knox said in a statement.

Knox will be joined at Picnic by fellow Brit Oliver Peace, the 20-year-old stepping up after two years in the squad’s development programme, which saw him take part at elite level at the Tour of Britain and the Tour of the Alps. Peace also finished sixth at this year’s U23 Paris-Tours and 11th on GC at the Tour of Rwanda.

“Oliver is gifted both in climbing and time trialling, a combination that gives him the tools to grow into a GC rider over the coming years,” Picnic-PostNL’s head coach Rudi Kemna said today.

“Initially, he will play an important support role in stage races, but we will give him every opportunity to continue developing the endurance, racing craft and consistency needed for the WorldTour.”

Peace and Knox’s signings mean Picnic’s British contingent will increase to six for 2026, with promising 21-year-old Bjorn Koerdt and Sean Flynn also currently racing alongside Onley and Poole.

And not to be outdone, Ireland will also be represented in the team’s blue and orange colours next year, with 26-year-old Dillon Corkery landing a WorldTour deal after impressing as a stagiaire for Picnic since August, following an impressive, attacking sixth place at the GP de Denain (won by Matt Brennan) while racing for Conti team St Michel.

So basically, a guy from Stoke, Phil James, was cycling up Mount Vesuvius recently as part of his latest bike-related challenge to himself as he continues his recovery from alcoholism. He then randomly bumped into none other than the Jam’s Paul Weller while in Sorrento, and the pair shared stories about staying sober.

It’s a lovely story, certainly, though not the most newsworthy thing I’ve ever seen (though I run this blog, which is the definition of tenuous most days, so who am I to judge?).

Anyway, I’m not sure we can bump Paul Weller into the ‘cyclist’ category just yet. Though he was mates with fellow Mod Wiggo back in the day, of course…

I think we can safely file this one under ‘don’t try this at home’…

Remember Artem Shcherbyna? Well, in case the name has slipped your mind, he’s the cycling YouTuber who follows pro cyclists around during their Spanish training camps, clinging grimly to their back wheels while shouting nonsense about hairy legs at them and ignoring their mostly polite requests to leave them alone.

While we can all grumble about his content-creating methods, Artem’s videos do give some startling insights into the staggering ability and bike handling skills of the best riders in the world, from Pogačar and Van der Poel to Vingegaard and Ferrand-Prévot… as well as a certain Texan, who Shcherbyna joined for a spin up the Col de la Madone (where else?) a few weeks ago.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Artem Shcherbyna (@artem4ik19)

This week, Artem is back, with probably his toughest assignment yet: following Tom Pidcock on a descent (spoiler: he can’t).

Pidcock has been in flying form throughout the second half of 2025, the Q36.5 rider securing a breakthrough podium place at the Vuelta, while also finishing second behind a rampant Isaac del Toro at the Giro dell’Emilia on Saturday, ahead of his Lombardia-Gravel Worlds double bid this weekend.

Zac Williams/SWpix.com

And, not that we needed any reminding, Artem’s latest video underlines how – despite his improved climbing prowess – Pidcock’s downhill skills remain on point.

In his video, posted yesterday but likely filmed sometime earlier this year, Shcherbyna stumbles upon the British star during a training session on the Coll de Rates, the now-iconic test climb for pros near the training camp hotspot of Calpe on Spain’s Costa Blanca.

After Pidcock asks the YouTuber the distance to Calpe (judged to be “perfect” by the double Olympic champion), Artem jumps on his wheel for the climb.

But it’s on the descent, where the gulf in quality between demon descender and content-creating civilian really shows, as Pidcock just eases away from Shcherbyna anytime a corner or technical section looms (prompting a few grumbles in the comments about the YouTuber’s on-the-hoods descending style).

“Don’t even try to jump on the wheel of Tom Pidcock downhill. On the downhill from Tarbena I set my PB that day,” Artem said. No wonder.

“That was insane,” wrote Gus on YouTube. “Instant 30 metre gap!”

“Interesting to see pros while cornering – two turns and he already gained 40-50 metres… Pidcock is a true master, very skilful and beautiful to watch,” said another commenter.

“Always love watching him descend. Perfect form, leans the bike not the rider, cantered, always seems to pick the exact right line,” added Jems on Instagram.

“Nuts! I can’t even imagine if Pidcock was going full gas descending,” said Martin.

“It’s easier to stay on Pogi’s wheel climbing than Tom’s on a descent!” noted Marius. Though I wouldn’t be so sure of that…

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Artem Shcherbyna (@artem4ik19)

However, some viewers weren’t impressed with certain aspects of Pidcock’s downhill showcase, with one commenter criticising the Q36.5 rider for travelling at around 50kph in a 40kph zone (around seven minutes into the YouTube video). Don’t tell the Telegraph…

“I am road cyclist too, but other cyclists and Pros should follow the rules – going downhill, on the opposite side of the road, through full lines, WTF,” one wrote.

“Using full lane on an open street is dangerous for others. He is free to hurt himself but not others,” added another.

> “Road racing is more dangerous than mountain biking,” says Tom Pidcock – as fans say “that’s common sense!”

And the moment, captured in Artem’s Instagram clip, showing Pidcock overtake a motorist just after a corner, also attracted some criticism.

Hugo, for instance, accused Pidcock on Instagram of serring a “bad example overtaking the car like that”.

“That overtake could’ve gone soooo wrong for him and you would’ve had it on camera!” added Steve.

However, several cyclists leapt to Pidcock’s defence, pointing out that, according to Spanish traffic laws, the Strade Bianche winner’s overtake was perfectly legal.

“Both cars and cyclists can overtake each other on a solid line in Spain, as long caution is used with 1.5m space and a clear line of sight,” noted Jack, while Matthew added: “That car was barely moving.”

“He knew exactly what was going on and it’s clear there were no oncoming cars. It’s a different POV in this video,” argued Joel, while another user concluded that Pidcock’s descending isn’t dangerous “when you have the skills”.

As I said, don’t try this at home. And at least Tom wasn’t being towed by a motorbike this time…

Well, this is awkward.

At last month’s Tour of Britain Men, you may remember, Geraint Thomas rode off into the Cardiff sunset (or at least the drizzling rain and steel grey skies) wearing a special jersey commemorating the Welsh legend’s 19 years in the peloton.

Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com

The kit featured, naturally, a Welsh dragon as well as a red, white, and green colour scheme, a drawing by Thomas’ son Macs, and references to his biggest wins, including his 2018 success on Alpe d’Huez on the way to winning the yellow jersey, while Ineos’ famous line on the back of the kit featured all of his years as a professional.

The jersey also included the names of friends and colleagues who have supported Thomas along the way.

“I kind of wanted to get people’s names on it that have sort of been with me through the whole journey, so to speak. So that was pretty cool to get their names,” the 39-year-old, who is set to step into a management role at Ineos, said in an Instagram video unveiling his final ever race kit.

This afternoon, road.cc news writer Callum Devereux received a replica version of Thomas’ retirement jersey in the post. While perusing the names printed on the kit, he noticed some of the usual suspects: Luke Rowe, Ben Swift, Rod Ellingworth.

And, just above the names of the 2018 Tour winner’s wife and son, a certain David Rozman.

As the head carer, or soigneur, at Sky and then Ineos, Rozman would have worked with Thomas throughout his tenure at the British squad. But during the Welshman’s final Tour in July, Rozman left the race under a cloud, after finding himself at the centre of allegations concerning messages supposedly sent to a convicted doping doctor.

During the Tour, after days avoiding media scrutiny on the subject, Ineos admitted that Rozman had received a request from the International Testing Agency to attend an interview following media reports about messages he allegedly exchanged with German physician Mark Schmidt before and during the 2012 Tour de France, won by Sky’s Bradley Wiggins.

In 2021, Schmidt was sentenced to four years and ten months in prison for running a doping ring that included pro riders such as Alessandro Petacchi, Danilo Hondo, and Borut Bozic, and reportedly involved a form of powered haemoglobin, leading to 11 cyclists and nine cross-country skiers receiving bans.

In June, a documentary by German national broadcaster ARD claimed that Rozman, who was not named in the programme, may have even played an important role in Schmidt’s doping network, according to text messages presented as evidence during the Erfurt-based doctor’s trial.

According to the messages allegedly attributed to Rozman during Schmidt’s trial, the Slovenian asked Schmidt a month before the 2012 Tour: “Do you still have any of the stuff that Milram used during the races? If so, can you bring it for the boys?”

In another message, the Sky carer asked Schmidt to “call me ASAP”, with the doctor writing the next day: “What say team?”

Meanwhile, on 6 July, the day before Chris Froome won the mountaintop finish at La Planche des Belle Filles and Wiggins rode into the yellow jersey, which he would hold all the way to Paris, messages were exchanged between Schmidt and the staff member about meeting for “a beer” at the Team Sky hotel.

> “I don’t have anything more to say”: Ineos stay silent on staff member’s alleged doping links – but sports director admits it was unfair Thymen Arensman forced to answer questions after Tour de France stage win

During the first week of this year’s Tour de France, where Rozman was seen working as normal for Ineos, questions grew about the Slovenian’s links to Schmidt, with Ineos stubbornly refusing to comment on the investigation, before finally admitting in the race’s final days that Rozman had left the Tour.

The team also revealed that Rozman had, in fact, been contacted by a member of the ITA’s staff in April, and had relayed details of this meeting to the Ineos management, with the British squad reiterating its “zero tolerance policy” on doping.

Rozman, who reportedly spent a brief spell at Manchester United, also run by Ineos, last year, is described on the Ineos Grenadiers’ website as “one of the longest-serving members of our staff [who] takes on the important role of Head Carer”.

The Slovenian has worked for the British squad, formerly known as Team Sky, for much of its existence, and also served as a soigneur for Team GB at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.

In the early 2010s, Rozman worked closely with Sky’s four-time Tour winner Chris Froome, effectively serving as Froome’s personal soigneur, and even named one of his children after Froome.

Following the controversy at the Tour, Froome distanced himself from Rozman, telling reporters at the Tour of Poland that he’d “only seen what’s been in the media” and “I only know as much as you guys”.

The four-time Tour winner also confirmed he had not spoken with Rozman since the investigation emerged and refuted claims that he had deleted social media posts of him and his former soigneur.

Thomas, meanwhile, appears to have followed a different tack when it comes to his long-standing relationship with Rozman, acknowledging his role in his career on the front and back of his retirement jersey (it is not clear, however, when the kit was designed or produced, and whether production predated Rozman leaving the Tour under a cloud).

The 2018 Tour winner even discussed Rozman and the latest scandal to engulf Ineos this week in an interview with the Guardian, in which he admitted that the squad did not handle the issue well, while also claiming he wasn’t surprised that the soigneur could be friends with a convicted doping doctor.

Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com

“It wasn’t great, the way the team dealt with it,” Thomas said. “But it’s a tough one if you get a doctor that’s been in cycling for a while.

“I’m not saying they’re all dodgy, by any means, but if someone’s been in the sport 15 years, the possibility of them having some sort of link [to a drugs’ cheat] is pretty high. It’s been tough, all these things happening over the years with the team. But, as a rider, all you can do is worry about yourself and the next race.

“I wasn’t surprised that he knew some doctor that ended up being a bit suspect. But just because you know someone doesn’t mean you’re guilty. I was surprised at how quickly it blew up and the bad press he was getting.”

Asked if he understood why Ineos were being asked legitimate questions about a long-term staff member, Thomas said: “Yes, but I think it could have been looked at without it all coming out. I think if you looked at other teams as intensely, then there will be lots of questions about them. It shows we’re held to a different standard than a lot of other teams.”

The Ineos Grenadiers have been approached for comment.