Hill climb champ smashes ‘UK’s toughest climb’ KOM by two minutes; Cargo bike courier rubbishes Bath Conservatives’ steep hills claim; €37,000 raised for injured ultracyclist; Supermarket bikepacking; Storey’s 15th gold; Rog memes + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Cargo bike courier rubbishes Bath Conservatives' claim about delivering up steep hills
If there was ever a need to prove that some people in Bath have literally no idea of how most of us live our lives, this quote proves it. https://t.co/Ho4BVcImDv
— Bath Conservatives (@BathCA) August 23, 2021
If you’re going to claim its impossible or impractical to transport your business and supplies by cargo bike in a hilly city like Bath…it’s probably not a good idea to dispute the fact with a business that has been doing it for five years.
Bath Conservatives did exactly that and were all too happy to jump in when a Twitter user suggested businesses should ditch their vans and cycle supplies into the Clean Air Zone to avoid charges. They said the idea showed how some in Bath have “literally no idea” how others live.
Anyway, this is where Three Bags Full cargo bikes stepped in to share an article about a London plumber who does 95 per cent of his business by cargo bike. This went down well…
In West London. Mostly very flat, and a compact market. Good for him.
Suggest you don’t propose this to plumbers, electricians, joiners, roofers, scaffolders, builders etc trying to serve customers across Bath, Bristol, Somerset and Wiltshire.
— Bath Conservatives (@BathCA) August 24, 2021
https://t.co/XcfaG15Qrp Pardon me? Last time I looked the Bath CAZ was in the centre of Bath. Not Bristol, Or Wiltshire. Or Somerset. We’ve been running an electric cargo bike delivery service in Bath for 5 years. Carrying heavy loads up and down Bath’s many hills very …
— Three Bags Full (@Threebagsfullco) August 24, 2021
Nice of Three Bags Full to keep the ‘we’ve been doing it for five years’ ace up their sleeve until Bath Conservatives had committed to making themselves look silly…
Three Bags Full’s website says it is ‘Cleaner, faster, cheaper – Three Bags Full is Bath’s zero-emissions only mile delivery service’ and is on a mission to swap ‘the hordes of heavily polluting diesel vans with a fleet of zero-emissions electric cargo bikes’. Amen.
Dame Sarah Storey wins 15th Paralympic title - her eighth Games where she's won gold
Now that’s how you win a 15th gold medal 👏
Congratulations @DameSarahStorey 🥇#Tokyo2020 | #C4Paralympics pic.twitter.com/Bd2dHu2jOz
— C4 Paralympics (@C4Paralympics) August 25, 2021
Dame Sarah Storey won her first Paralympic gold at the Barcelona Games in 1992. This morning in Tokyo she won her 15th. Storey smashed her world record by more than four seconds in the C5 3,000m individual pursuit qualifier before comfortably catching fellow Brit Crystal Lane-Wright in the final.
The result means she’s now just one gold behind swimmer Mike Kenny’s record of 16. A sign of her domination was that the final was over after just 1,750m.
“It’s quite overwhelming,” Storey told the BBC. “I don’t know if it will sink in until I get home. I came here with a really solid plan of what I wanted to do and I’ve delivered it, so it kind of blows your mind a bit. I talked before about breaking your personal best, in my case a world record, a small margin at a time. And I just knocked 4.3 seconds off.”
"I have no doubt in my mind. I was close enough": Cornwall cyclist convinced he spotted big cat while mountain biking near Bodmin
Nigel Barker from Truro is convinced he spotted a big cat the size of a large lurcher while he was out mountain biking with his kids at Lanhydrock, near Bodmin. The 52-year-old told Cornwall Live they were the first on the trails early in the morning when the large, athletic cat, described as charcoal grey with a 2ft long tail and bushy fur darted across the trail.
Nigel said the animal was a similar size to his lurcher and far too big for a domestic cat. He then saw a deer and believes the cat was hunting the doe when he startled it. “I stopped just to compose myself a little bit,” he told Cornwall Live.
“I was a bit of an agnostic,” he said. “I have friends on the moor who said they’ve seen them. I have no doubt in my mind. I was close enough.” The Beast of Bodmin?
"No risk, no glory": Primož Roglič and the rest of the cycling world reacts to Slovenian's stage ten crash
“Is it bad?”
“No, it’s nothing.”@JumboVismaRoad duo Primoz Roglic and Sepp Kuss discuss an eventful final climb on Stage 10 of #LaVuelta21 pic.twitter.com/6Z59yttmVq— Velon CC (@VelonCC) August 24, 2021
Primož Roglič did not seem to concerned after the finish of yesterday’s stage, telling Sepp Kuss, ” it’s nothing”. The cycling world went into meltdown as the rider, who saw his Tour de France hopes ended because of a crash, fell again on a fast technical descent having attacked up the final climb of stage ten. Some are calling him the new Geraint Thomas, others joked that even when he crashes Roglič still takes time on Ineos…
We shared the screenshot on the live blog yesterday of Tadej Pogačar liking a meme poking fun at his compatriot’s fall. Pog loves memes.
Idles frontman Joe Talbot cycling from London to Bristol to raise money for a youth mental health charity
“It’s been amazing to see how many young people they have helped and supported through boxing – you can really see the impact their work has, giving people a new focus and honestly changing lives.” Joe Talbot, @idlesband @WJHealey @templecycles 🚲https://t.co/imPoIgWdhG
— Empire Fighting Chance (@EmpireFightingC) August 24, 2021
The frontman of British rock band Idles is cycling from London to Bristol to raise money for Empire Fighting Chance, a youth mental health charity which uses non-contact boxing to support young people. Talbot and fellow musical artist Willie J Healey are setting off from Banquet Records in London on Friday, the day after a gig in the capital, and aim to reach Friendly Records in Bristol 128 miles later.
Talbot, whose band was nominated for a Brit Award and Mercury Prize in 2019, trains at the gym he’s raising money for and said: “It is with huge excitement and honour that Willie and I can start to give back to Empire Fighting Chance and support the work they do.
“I’ve trained in the Empire Fighting Chance gym for a long time and it has been amazing to see how many young people they have helped and supported through boxing – you can really see the impact their work has, giving people a new focus and honestly changing lives. I’m sure this won’t be the last challenge we take on for Empire, but as first tries go it’s definitely ambitious.”
Bristol bike manufacturer Temple Cycles has donated bikes for the challenge.
Vuelta a España prepares for silly steep stage finish in Valdepeñas de Jaén
VALDEPEÑAS vs HUY#LaVuelta21 pic.twitter.com/A1Cvic3eo8
— Gregarios de Lujo (@gregariosdelujo) August 25, 2021
The Vuelta route looks a little lumpy, but a closer look at the finish will tell you just how hard it is going to be for those riding and how enjoyable it will be for us sat on the sofa. The final ramp peaks at 25 per cent and averages 9.2 per cent for 900m…
For context, Mur de Huy is 1.2km at 9.9 per cent. We can’t wait.
Rog is one cool cat
Roglič asked how long he can avoid taking red again.
Him: ‘Sweet worries, huh?’
— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) August 25, 2021
Hill climb champ Andrew Feather smashes KOM up 'UK's toughest climb' Bealach na Bà
British National Hill Climb champion Andrew Feather is on a summer tour of Scotland, smashing KOMs wherever he goes. Last night he took the one climb to rule them all…Bealach na Bà. Often dubbed Britain’s toughest climb, the Bealach is 9.32km at 6.7 per cent, but includes 3km at 10 per cent, 1km at 13 per cent and a steepest 600m averaging 19 per cent…Brutal.
It racks up 627m of ascent, pretty good for here in the UK. The aptly named Feather made light work of our most infamous climb, reaching the top in 24:44 at an average speed of 22.6km/h and more than two minutes faster than previous KOM holder Ross Fawcett.
The two-time hill climb champ’s power data explains why he can boast that title…432w for the duration of the 24 minute effort.
What’s more, once he’d conquered the westbound ascent Feather rolled down the other side and claimed the eastbound KOM too…
This one was a bit closer…he only took the second KOM by 1:50. Feather summited the eastbound ascent (8.37km at 7.5 per cent) in 24:25, again holding a mind-boggling 406w for the duration of the climb. Check out the Strava activity in all its glory here.
Earlier in the summer we tasked road.cc’s Liam with the unenviable challenge of trying to beat Andrew on some of our local climbs in Bath. To level the playing field a touch we gave Liam an e-bike…see how he got on here.
Then in the rematch we went the other way and let Liam ride his normal bike and made poor Andrew slog progressively more horrible machines up Bloomfield Road’s 12 per cent slopes…did Liam beat a hill climb champ riding a battered old folder?
Alison Jackson bags debut Women's World Tour win
🚴♀️Wow. The breakaway survives. The winner of stage 1 Zwolle – Hardenberg is
🥇@aliACTIONjackso @LivRacingWT
🥈 @maelle__G @FDJ_NAqui_Fut
🥉@lorenawiebes @TeamDSM
4 @marianne_vos @JumboVismaWomen
5 @charlotte_kool @NXTGRacing #SLT2021 #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/cn6Z4MkRDV— Simac Ladies Tour (@ladiestour) August 25, 2021
Liv Racing’s Alison Jackson won the opening road stage of the Simac Ladies Tour, the latest Women’s World Tour race to hit our TV screens. Canadian Jackson and her breakaway companion Maëlle Grossetête survived to the finish in Hardenberg with the 32-year-old winning the sprint seconds before the peloton surged over the line. Jackson also takes the leader’s jersey from yesterday’s prologue winner Marianne Vos; the pair are level on time ahead of stage two tomorrow.
Pothole concerns ahead of Women's Tour
I’ve ridden some of this route finding many potholes, so this worries me. I’ll check this out a few times before the race, prevention is better than cure! @mrpotholeuk @CyclingLawyers @Jdrsmith https://t.co/fc5QhPJuYg pic.twitter.com/h9XxEvStci
— Dave Gaster (@VisTran) August 25, 2021
The Simac Women’s Tour may be happening this week in the Netherlands but here in the UK we’ve got a Women’s World Tour Women’s Tour of our own. The stages are mainly in the south east of England, including stage one in Oxfordshire that Dave mentions above.
€37,000 raised for ultracyclist who suffered broken neck in wild boar crash
More than €37,000 has been raised for Spanish ultracyclist Ana Orenz who sustained a horrific list of injuries after crashing into a wild boar on a fast descent during the 3,500km Trans Iberica event. Ana collided with the animal and lay unconscious in the road for an hour before coming around and lying unable to move for another hour.
She was eventually found by two other racers who called for medical help. Orenz was transferred to Pamplona Hospital where she is currently being treated for a broken neck and severe facial trauma. Thankfully, although severely bruised, her spinal cord was not severed and she did not suffer any brain damage.
The first-responders said she was lucky to be alive and a traumatologist added that it may be a year before the single mother to daughter Ruby is able to stand by herself. Her facial injuries will also require months of surgical reconstruction.
Orenz set multiple records prior to the incident and is the first woman to triple Everest, won the 24 hour Cyclo Circuit Valencia and is normally the first female finisher at any event she races.
The GoFundMe page is over two thirds of the way to its 50,000 euro target and says: “Of course we dream that Ana will ride again, that she will win another race, but our reality today is that Ana’s goals are to sit up, to walk, to go home and to relearn the basics of life that we take for granted. She faces many months off work and the donations we ask for will go towards her physical therapy and allowing her time to rest and recuperate, to be looked after for once.”
Jasper Philipsen withdraws from Vuelta a España with fever symptoms
Double stage winner Jasper Philipsen has left the Vuelta a España because of some mild fever symptoms. The Belgian sprinter says although “very very disappointed” he understands his team’s medical staff urging him to withdraw. The 23-year-old won stage two and stage five before coming third on stage eight. He was second in the points classification, 16 behind Fabio Jakobsen.
Supermarket bikepacking
Your yearly reminder that pannier bag hooks also work on shopping trolleys. 🛒🚲🛍️🥖 pic.twitter.com/BQl3WGIwtA
— Adam Reynolds (@awjre) August 24, 2021
But do they clip to those little Lidl wheelie baskets?
How Specialized and Deceuninck-Quick-Step delivered the first Tour of Flanders won on clinchers (with some help from Kasper Asgreen)
Definitely not the takeaway point Specialized wanted us to take from this vid, but anyone else really enjoy watching a pro rider working on their bike in a dingy garage workshop? Maybe it’s just me…
25 August 2021, 08:09
25 August 2021, 08:09
25 August 2021, 08:09
25 August 2021, 08:09
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25 Comments
Latest Comments
@robgodd The poor guy himself suffered a traumatic brain injury and his skull was so badly shattered a significant portion of it had to be removed - do me a favour, have a look around cycling helmet manufacturers and see if any of them claim the foam hats they produce will protect against or even mitigate that level of injury. I'll wait if you like, but I can save us both the time and tell you what you'll find: none of them. Not a single one of them will. Because they don't, and they *can't* based on simple physics. Once the point of failure in a material is reached all(or as near as makes no odds) of the additional force beyond that necessary threshhold transfers through to the object beneath. Since bicycle helmets are rated for forces roughly equivalent to being dropped straight down from a stationary start 1.5m above a hard surface. Now, I'm not an expert in vehicle crash investigation, but I'm *fairly* sure that any impact or series of impacts powerful enough to render a quarder of your skull into gravel, put you in a weeks-long coma, give you massive amnesia, and leave you with ongoing symptoms of traumatic brain injury are a little bit, a teeny-weeny amount, a little smidgeon-widgeon more than what bike helmets are rated for. That's why none of the companies that make them claim they will help in such circumstances: because they know it would be a lie, and that unlike uninformed punters, carbrained journalists, or "medical professionals" who think wearing a helmet would save you from a broken arm(an actual scenario encountered by a mate, who's nurse at the A&E tutted and harrumphed her way through his whole treatment due to his lack of helmet despite his bonce having come through *being hit by a car* - another scenario bike helmets are worthless in - completely unscathed), the lawyers for those companies know their business and understand that if you lie in advertising you will get sued into the ground.
The Battle of Ypres April 1915. The German infantry division advanced using das Brumptstadt Fahrarden. The slow speed kept them behind the cloud of chlorine gas as it drifted towards the Commonwealth trenches. The offensive cleaved a two mile gap in the Western Front. The use of cycles was copied by the Japanese as they invaded Singapore and Burmah. By then war technology had embraced wider low pressure tyres, carbon frames and hydration gels. The German forces decided not to incorporate cycling as part of Operation Session, as bike theft in London and the South East was rife and would have caused huge casualties. Ironically superior advancement of tyre technology led to a British victory at El Alamein. This technology played a key part in the US Marines victory at Iwo Jima.
The appropriate response to Google pissing on your cereal is not a fancy new sugar that removes the taste of urine. Stop using Google products where you can. Firefox browser and DuckDuckGo search engine have had noticeable upticks in market share by explicitly NOT pushing AI.
my thoughts exactly...I wonder how that approach is working, with motor vehicle drivers...🤔
I do not wish to diminish the personal tragedy, but one never hear calls for pedestrians or even hikers to wear clothing with integrated lightening rods.
RE Andy Burnam / Heidi Alexander - this is the best thing in many ways - set an example (even if currently it leads to lots of online name-calling). And imagine some of the political alternatives! The folks in the apparently second-placed party seem incredibly unlikely to be doing so. And even the current "new Greens" seem less interested in ... y'know, environmental things. OTOH I wish Heidi could be bolder. And I fear that like anyone ambitious enough to get to the top (exception B Johnson - well, I guess there was the Corbyn bicycle...) Burnam will be trimming his transport policy sails to fit the wind (should that be "bunker-fuel-burning engines"?)
@mattsccm Bull bars aren't banned, they just have to conform to regulations so they are deformable or have plates that allow crumple give on contact, rather than rigid steel bars that can smash into pedestrians and cyclists with no give at all, catch them and drag them under the wheels. If you think that's a problem, do one. Why should who is responsible for a collision remove the responsibility of people driving a tonne of machinery on the road from having safety features to at least mitigate some of the effects of a collision?
I'd be willing to bet that's lazy use of stock photography rather than deliberate misinformation, but the result is still the same.
@smallbeer You obviously don't realise how many bulls there are wandering around Chelsea, in and out of the china shops, that he needs to protect his Range Rover from.
I agree, it's bloody 'elf and safety overreach, can't help some people, I put some meat, sorry, neat decoration on the front of mine and the polis were round poking their noses in like that (mind you, that was a mistake...) (etc)
25 thoughts on “Hill climb champ smashes ‘UK’s toughest climb’ KOM by two minutes; Cargo bike courier rubbishes Bath Conservatives’ steep hills claim; €37,000 raised for injured ultracyclist; Supermarket bikepacking; Storey’s 15th gold; Rog memes + more on the live blog”
I don’t know who Katzenjammer
I don’t know who Katzenjammer is, but he seems to desperately need a boiler for some reason.
Their old one has become
Their old one has become dangerous – it’s leaking a lot of steam out of their ears.
Priviliged tories explaining
Priviliged tories explaining to the masses how they don’t understand how they live “…literally no idea….”
Does anyone know of a good irony meter repairer?
Isn’t it a case of “I couldn
Isn’t it a case of “I couldn’t possibly do that, therefore nobody can possibly do that”…?
Its literally a case of “I
Its literally a case of “I cant imagine ever doing that, so I’ll leave to the plebs without bothering to do any fact finding”
You can lead a horse to water etc etc….
Lots of Tory’s (other parties too, but the tories are the worst) are a) part of a demographic that desperately wants to live in the past without life changing, as long it it doesnt impact their trough nuzzling or b) willing to fake it to fearmonger to a large chunk of the electorate who either dont like change or are scared by it.
See also a USian Republicans.
What’s the quote; not being
What’s the quote; not being able to imagine how things can be done differently is only evidence of lack of imagination. It’s not evidence that things can’t be done differently. (or something like that).
Quote:
The key question here is not whether they exist, but are their rates more reasonable than bears in America?
Captain Badger wrote:
The key question here is not whether they exist, but are their rates more reasonable than bears in America?
It’s well known that bears shit in the woods, but if I were a big cat (spotted or not), would I puma pants?
hawkinspeter wrote:
Oh very good sir, chapeau!
Captain Badger wrote:
The key question here is not whether they exist, but are their rates more reasonable than bears in America?
Nope – prices are lower in a bear market.
If I have never heard of the
If I have never heard of the Idles does that mean I am now officially Old?
I’ve heard of Eric Idle !
I’ve heard of Eric Idle !
Idles have quite a following
Idles have quite a following in the “aging punk” market as well as (lyrically) appealing to “disenfranchised youth”. I should be seeing them on the 3rd September in Brockwell Park (Brixton). I’m not divulging which of the two categories I fall into, I’ll let you guess
Potholes – They are mere
Potholes – They are mere minor conveniences compared to the ones around Colchester. Essex Council are simply shocking at repairing anything. Shitshowofashambles…
Imagine the embarrassment to
Imagine the embarrassment to a council, if an international professional cyclist was injured by a dropped drain cover / worn off section of roadway / (fill in a blank here) that had been there for months or even years and never fixed….
Well have they been reported
Well have they been reported to stand a chance of being fixed ?
Also isnt that how Marianne Vos crashed out of the last edition ?
About to mention that about
About to mention that about Vos in 2019(?). Her colleague hit the bump which then caused her to knock Vos down.
Yes coincidentally enough
Yes coincidentally enough that stage was held in Oxfordshire too
Richard_pics wrote:
Perhaps they could be seen as a feature, like the Paris-Roubaix?
Richard_pics wrote:
Using them for that is just anti-social.
mdavidford wrote:
Potty-holes
Spent all the money on 2
Spent all the money on 2 roundabouts.
Carry a can of white spray
Carry a can of white spray paint and paint your average public toilet graffiti around the offending pothole. and see how quick it gets fixed. See
https://www.google.com/search?q=pothole+graffiti&client=firefox-b-d&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=VoN7s3rQENFGMM%252CzE-E0hbAB4FY3M%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQeE1ELeyhPDl2yAdCarzLfd4-7Kg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiohYO2983yAhUIT30KHTXkDvAQ9QF6BAgKEAE&biw=1154&bih=911#imgrc=VoN7s3rQENFGMM
Funny that – I just rode the
Funny that – I just rode the 2019 TOB Stage 7 (I think) intermediate sprint segment down Brinklow in Warks. If the peloton were riding down it in the condition it’s in now….
Good job the tour ain’t coming anywhere near Warwickshire this time, so the pros can stay safe and we can live with the godawful jittering roads for another year.
Two WWT call outs in the live
Two WWT call outs in the live blog, including the result of an actual stage, wonders will never cease 😉