Stagecoach apologises after disabled cyclist harassed by driver for not using cycle lane; Paris “unrecognisable” as cycling hotspot; Van Aert: Remco didn’t stick to plan at world champs; Roubaix on-bike highlights; Women’s Tour TT + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Stagecoach apologises for driver's behaviour
Stagecoach did get back to Harrie apologising for the driver’s “completely unacceptable” behaviour. The company told her, “we all know the Highway Code and our drivers are professional bus drivers that should be well aware of where cyclists can ride. Harassing or intimidating any other road users, especially vulnerable road users such as pedestrians or cyclists, won’t be tolerated by us.”
Disabled cyclist harassed by bus driver for not using cycle lane
I’m a disabled cyclist. AGAIN today on Oxford Rd one of your driver’s harrassed me because I wasn’t in the dedicated cycle lane.
My trike is to wide to safely use this lane & I use the road.
I stopped & explained this to your driver
— Harrie Larrington-Spencer (@tricyclemayor) October 4, 2021
Harrie Larrington-Spencer took to social media to highlight one of the many barriers that disabled people face when trying to cycle. As her trike is too wide to safely use the cycle lane on Oxford Road, Harrie rides in the road, sometimes attracting abuse from other motorists.
On Monday she detailed her second incident involving a Stagecoach bus driver where she was “harassed” for not using the bike lane. “My trike is too wide to safely use this lane and I use the road,” Harrie explained on Twitter. “I stopped and explained this to your driver. He apparently didn’t see a problem with his behaviour, didn’t think his behaviour was rude and didn’t apologise. There are already too many barriers for disabled people getting active, your drivers shouldn’t be another one.
“I’d like a written apology from both yourselves and the driver and I’d like to know what you are going to do to educate your drivers. It’s beginning to feel like targeted harassment by Stagecoach bus drivers every time I cycle anywhere.”
@tricyclemayor Hi Harrie, please could you DM us confirming the time, exact location and detailing what happened/what the driver did so that we can investigate this for you? Thanks, K.
— Stagecoach Manchester & Wigan (@StagecoachGM) October 4, 2021
In June, Harrie shared photos of another bus after the driver had beeped the horn at her for not riding in the cycle lane…
I’m disabled and I cycle a trike. I can’t cycle safely in most segregated cycle lanes as they are too narrow.
Today this driver beeped at me for it.
All I want to do is cycle in the city without getting abuse.
Please can you have a word please? pic.twitter.com/Bnn5OCxjzR
— Harrie Larrington-Spencer (@tricyclemayor) June 23, 2021
After that incident Stagecoach said it would be reported to depot management who would conduct a full investigation and consult with the driver.
Velobici's new Modernist Thermal collection, including jerseys, bib shorts and baselayers
British brand Velobici has just dropped its new Modernist Thermal collection, with men’s and women’s Thermal Jerseys (£200), Thermal Bib Shorts (£190) and Thermal Baselayers (£65) available.
“We’ve used a soft and breathable midweight VB/Pro TI1 fabric that provides thermal regulation and four-way stretch for a perfect fit and complete comfort,” says Velobici. “The fabric is made from two knitted layers that trap air to enhance the body’s natural thermoregulation.” A DWR treatment has also been added to repel water and the close weave should keep the cold air out.
Velobici just received a £400,000 funding boost from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund and says it plans to use the investment to bolster its workforce and facilitate a move to a new sustainably powered factory as it works towards becoming a fully sustainable operation.
Paris "unrecognisable" as cycling hotspot...what one million cycle journeys per day looks like
This is Paris, today. In a very short space of time, the city has built temporary infrastructure enabling 1 million daily cycle journeys. If you haven’t visited in a while, some parts are unrecognisable.
Imagine if every person cycling here decided to jump in a car instead. pic.twitter.com/L7jIHVTXWt
— Adam Tranter (@adamtranter) October 4, 2021
Videos from Paris have become a staple of the live blog as the French capital has been transformed into a cycling hotspot thanks to infrastructure first installed in response to a public transport strike two winters ago. The pandemic saw those first lanes enlarged to cope with increased demand. Now, six-in-ten users are new cyclists and, as Adam Tranter points out above, the infra enables one million daily cycle journeys.
Since election in 2014, the city’s mayor Anne Hidalgo has invested more than €150m and aims to double the number of bike lanes.
Movistar switches to La Passione for 2022
Movistar has announced it’s switching to the direct-to-consumer kit brand La Passione across both its men’s and women’s teams for 2022. The Spanish WorldTour outfit currently wear kit supplied by Alé, but the likes of Alejandro Valverde and Annemiek van Vleuten will be donning kit from a different Italian brand next season, La Passione.
Movistar has also previously ridden in Scottish clothing brand Endura, but Endura decided to end its sponsorship back in 2019, blaming the UCI for limiting technological advances in clothing. Claiming it was a “dead end”, Endura instead decided to focus on developing aerodynamic clothing for triathlons.
Wout van Aert: Remco didn't stick to team plan at World Championships
Wout van Aert has addressed Belgium’s tactics at the World Championships, a home race he was favourite to win. Van Aert ultimately finished 11th, meaning Jasper Stuyven was the Belgians’ best-placed rider, just off the podium in fourth. Van Aert spoke to Sporza’s podcast and questioned Remco Evenepoel’s decision to attack so early on in the race.
“It was absolutely not the tactics of the team or the national coach to use Remco so early. He himself chose to attack so early, that early was for [Yves] Lampaert or [Victor] Campenaerts. Because Remco was at the front, they were never able to carry out their task,” Van Aert explained.
“It’s important that we talk about this again. We will still be in selections together. Remco contacted me, but that was quite short. No major steps have been taken to clear it up, but that will come. Communication is important in every relationship and Remco still has to take steps in that regard.
“What happened at the World Championships will linger, but as a person you have to be forgiving. Otherwise you will make life very difficult. For me, this does not stand in the way of racing together later.”
Prior to the race, legend of the sport Eddy Merckx questioned why Evenepoel had been included if the team’s goal was to ride 100 per cent for Van Aert. One other spot of Wout news…after Roubaix he confirmed he’d be taking a long break before cyclocross season, so might be returning to action later than in previous years. His perennial rival, Mathieu van der Poel, last week said he’d be beginning his cross campaign in December.
Paris-Roubaix on-bike highlights
Crashes and mud. That just about sums up Velon’s on-bike highlights from Paris-Roubaix…
OS Maps and Cycling UK team up to advise bikepackers how to wild camp responsibly
Cycling UK and OS Maps have partnered to encourage more people to discover and enjoy the outdoors more responsibly. As part of the work they’ve made a short film about wild camping, featuring the youngest woman to cycle solo around the world, Vedangi Kulkarni.
She said: “One of the horror stories of the past year and a bit has been of how people have headed to some of this island’s most beautiful locations, spent a magical time overnight, and then just left it in a complete tip.”
The video offers advice on where to camp, how to go to the toilet responsibly and picking up rubbish to leave the countryside in a better state than you found it.
10/10
I’m not sure I could love this more if I tried! pic.twitter.com/Rui2jPfEo4
— 🖤✨Kirstie✨🖤 (@kirstie_talbot) October 5, 2021
Women's Tour TT: Can Clara Copponi defend race lead in Atherstone?
We’re underway in Atherstone! @GreenEDGEteam’s @JessicaAllen93 is the first rider off to tackle the 16.6km individual time trial course. #WomensTour #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/kKeWUaeAYx
— AJ Bell Women’s Tour (@thewomenstour) October 6, 2021
Jessica Allen was the first rider down the ramp this lunchtime. Just under half an hour until Lizzie Deignan gets underway. French rider Clara Copponi will be last off in the race leader’s jersey, just after second place Amy Pieters. Who will be wearing blue come 2pm?
In the live blog comments yesterday, a couple of readers said they’d been out on the road for the Walsall stage. The report from the ground, just as well considering the absence of TV coverage, was that the course was made harder by the autumnal conditions and became quite selective. A nice story though, as a few riders stopped to answer questions and pose for photos with a primary school class who’d been brought out for some proper education…
Wholesome content alert...the Tractor graduates
Tim Declercq joked “everybody knows I’m not a fast sprinter”, sharing the news of his graduation from Vrije Universiteit Brussel at 32 years of age. The Tractor presumably had a train of grateful classmates behind who he’d towed through the course…
Just two days after Roubaix, a scrubbed up Declercq wrote on Instagram: “Everybody knows I’m not a fast sprinter so it took me 30 years to complete my academic career. As my thinning hairline is hidden I could say it kept me everlasting young, but I suppose that’s only on the inside. Still a little bit proud to complete my master Physical Education and Kinesiology Training & Coaching.”
Elinor Barker won Olympic silver in Tokyo while pregnant
Casper and I are excited to announce that we are expecting our first child! We can’t believe how lucky we are and are so excited to start the next part of our lives together. pic.twitter.com/EA18pw8gWb
— Elinor Barker (@elinorbarker) October 5, 2021
Elinor Barker, who won silver as part of GB’s team pursuit squad in Tokyo, has said she was pregnant when she won her latest Olympic medal. The 27-year-old announced the news on social media…”We can’t believe how lucky we are and are so excited to start the next part of our lives together. And for the eagle-eyed among you who have done the maths… yep, I was pregnant at the Tokyo Olympics.”
Demi Vollering dominates Women's Tour time trial to likely sew up overall race win on stage three
⏱ NEW FASTEST TIME ⏱@demivollering (@teamsdworx) finishes in 23:18 – 1:04 quicker than @JossyLowden’s time for the 16.6-kilometre course! #WomensTour #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/9qhcObzxwL
— AJ Bell Women’s Tour (@thewomenstour) October 6, 2021
What a ride by Demi Vollering. The SD Worx star won the team’s second stage in as many days, smashing the 16.6km course around Atherstone, putting more than one minute into her nearest rival. Second place was Joss Lowden off the back of her Hour Record escapees last week.
Team DSM’s Leah Kirchmann was third, and Alice Barnes fourth. Vollering’s time means she will likely win the race overall, thanks to her handsome advantage going into the final three flat stages. The Dutch rider now leads Juliette Labous by 1:09, and former race leader Clara Copponi is third at 1:19. Tomorrow, the race travels to Essex for the first of three likely sprint stages as stage four takes the riders 117.8km from Shoeburyness to Southend-on-Sea.
MISSING: Hour Record holder's Garmin
A long shot… did anyone pick up a Garmin 130 at the first right hand corner 3km in to today’s @thewomenstour ITT? @JossyLowden’s fell off 🤦🏼♂️ #MissingGarmin #Oops pic.twitter.com/B0ULoX03Xr
— Dan Bigham (@DanBiggles22) October 6, 2021
Hour Record holder needs better Garmin holder…
Stagecoach apologises for driver's behaviour
Stagecoach did get back to Harrie apologising for the driver’s “completely unacceptable” behaviour. The company told her, “we all know the Highway Code and our drivers are professional bus drivers that should be well aware of where cyclists can ride. Harassing or intimidating any other road users, especially vulnerable road users such as pedestrians or cyclists, won’t be tolerated by us.”
6 October 2021, 07:34
6 October 2021, 07:34
6 October 2021, 07:34
6 October 2021, 07:34
6 October 2021, 07:34
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Latest Comments
And how are those attracted/paid for? Through bigger audiences. There are 53 million black people in the USA, and around 1.2 billion in Africa. How much extra sponsorship and TV coverage do you think women's racing might get if there were a few black US and African women competing? That's not, in your idiotic phrase, "wokeism", it's good sound commercial common sense.
@chrisonabike I don't know how they would get confused - one's called Jack and one's called Nigel.
There is so much depressing deja vu here. The defence factors taken from the usual tick box list : "poor lighting", "dark clothes", "didn't see him" etc. The usual rehabilitation path comments : "full of remorse". The common previous : "drugs, and alcohol", "no licence" etc. Even your comments about the tipper truck industry ring a bell. Look up the 1957 British film "Hell Drivers", if you haven't seen it. It must have have been inspired by events of the time. I did wonder why Renshaw had been on remand. Was he a flight risk?
The cycle path at that point is (part of) the main road, not the side road.
Its not fucking careless if you drive a vehicle and don't check your mirrors. Its fucking dangerous and its fucking deadly. How on earth are we still dealing with this bollocks. Everything about this is maddening. The fact he tried to weasel out of it and blame the cyclist. The fact hes avoided prison. The fact he was still driving after such a long history of dangerous driving. The fact he is still only banned for 12 months despite killing someone due to his inability to drive safely.
The tipper truck industry is an absolute Wild West. Scandal ridden, partly because of the complete lack of regulatory oversight and the pay-by-the-load system which incentives dodgy driving. I hope there is an investigation into the firm’s recruitment process and a corporate manslaughter charge. We urgently need a HSE investigation into the whole industry
Perhaps they're confusing the writer with a certain - ahem - new poster?
My deepest condolences to the family and friends of Zinovly Savyulak.
Sounds like a recommendation to me - after all, who'd want their writing to be emotionally empty?
I think MM's point is more fatally flawed than that - people *do* complain about inequality in running. There might be less inequality than in cycling, but there's still an over-representation of white people and barriers to participation.
47 thoughts on “Stagecoach apologises after disabled cyclist harassed by driver for not using cycle lane; Paris “unrecognisable” as cycling hotspot; Van Aert: Remco didn’t stick to plan at world champs; Roubaix on-bike highlights; Women’s Tour TT + more on the live blog”
Society is dead. Hate is
Society is dead. Hate is everywhere. End of days.
alexuk wrote:
In other news, a gardener in Middle Wallop has dug up this rather cheeky pair of carrots
Is that a pair or an orgy of
Is that a pair or an orgy of carrots?
lesterama wrote:
I’m not sure what the collective noun for pair would be. An orgy would need to be 3 minimum I would have thought
Captain Badger wrote:
Or would that be a peasome? maybe an orgy’s at least 4
A ‘menage a pois’?
A ‘menage a pois’?
Are those participants from
Are those participants from the World Naked Wheelbarrow Ride?
..and presumably orphaned
..and presumably orphaned some little baby carrots… shame on him.
I think I might be repeating
I think I might be repeating myself but we need to start measuring wellbeing / happiness as a measure of progress instead (or in combination with) GDP. The problem has been that GDP was adopted universally in the 1950s (yes there were alternatives). There has never been a standard wellbeing Index although I believe the Canadian system is well regarded.
Canadian Index of Wellbeing – Wikipedia
It’s funny that the Tories have been discussing what “levelling up” means and it’s all economic. No mention of equality, life expectancy, wellbeing etc….
I guess for many there’s an assumption that these will follow economic levelling up but I’m not sure where the evidence for this is.
IanMK wrote:
Absolutely. there’s no point in a state being awash with money if people are miserable, especially if that wealth is not equitably distributed.
I read a stat the other day that there are more food banks in teh UK than Mc Donalds. Go Britain….
Captain Badger wrote:
Well, I doubt that there’s much call for food banks in McDonalds
hawkinspeter wrote:
Y’know, as soon as I posted that I thought ” If I read that what would my first comment be?…”
They were introduced after
They were introduced after the start of the pandemic, when McDonalds would only serve you if you drove up in a car.
the UK government have been
the UK government have been measuring wellbeing for the past decade, actually brought it as an official stats collection before Canada did, and produces regular updates on it, probably due another update soon, https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing
strangely it was criticised as a waste of public money when it was brought it as a meaningless “fun index”, as the talking heads at the time told us all anyone is really interested in is GDP, because as the famous Clinton advisor quote “its the economy, stupid”, and it tends not to get reported on much by the media now.
Most countries do have a
Most countries do have a wellbeing index. The trouble is that, unlike GDP, there’s no standardisation so we can’t really see how we compare to other countries. People, apparently, love league tables. I think if we knew quantitatively that we were unhappier than Germany then there would be a lot more interest.
IanMK wrote:
I suspect that any wellbeing/happiness index could be corrupted like GDP, per Campbell’s Law or Goodhart’s Law.
Need more wellbeing this year? NHS can be told to prescribe more Soma!
andystow wrote:
And is it Wellness per capita, or just sum total Wellness within a country’s borders….
It’s amazing the difference
It’s amazing the difference in people when you put them in the driver’s seat. I bet those same bus drivers wouldn’t bat an eye if they saw someone cycling a trike when they were walking around. It shouldn’t make any difference at all if someone is disabled or not if they want to ride a trike or bike and not use a bike lane – the idea is to make bike lanes attractive enough that people want and can use them and there’s always going to be exceptions. There’s just no excuse at all for bullying other road users.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Absolutely.
I wonder if that aggressive piece of sh*t would like it if the roles were reversed. Stagecoach needs to sort their act out immediately.
The fault probably lies with
The fault probably lies with Stagecoach. They’ll be monitoring drivers on timeliness no doubt and so drivers feel under pressure to meet those targets. No excuse of course.
I’m not disabled and have
I’m not disabled and have been harrassed by a bus driver in similar circumstances where I was using the bus lane (shared use signs are still up). Seems bus drivers are the same as most with “you should be in your lane”. Maybe all buses should only ever use bus lanes only?
I’ve always felt its not a
I’ve always felt its not a great idea when councils mark ‘dedicated’ bus lanes up as being shared with cyclists.
Get the cyclists out of the way of the cars but force them to ‘share’ with speeding double decker buses trying to be kept to an unrealistic timetable… What could possibly go wrong?
I hear this complaint a lot,
I hear this complaint a lot, however my experience of cycling a busy bus corridor, variably with shared bus/cycle/taxi lanes and unseparated two-lane traffic, was that I experienced an improvement in behaviour from buses in the last decade or so. In that time, CPC was introduced (2008), bus drivers were required to complete regular training, and some of that was (freely available) cycle awareness. Buses also began to sprout cameras, incident recorders and wireless transmission, so in many instances, the fleet manager could have investigated an incident before the driver was back at the depot.
There will always be some idiots in the fleet – we’ve got some examples here – but I am very satisfied that cyclists and buses can mix in relative safety. Ideally, full segregation, but if there’s a compromise, I’ll mix with the buses rather than the idiots who think their personal travelling embassy enjoys immunity from other people.
When cyclists and buses do mix, it takes some give and take on both sides. I can tell a bus driver appreciates that I’ve gone some way to anticipate his needs, and a wave back when [s]he gives me a wide berth or hangs back builds the rapport.
The bus lane I use most
The bus lane I use most frequently isn’t a problem as ironically the buses rarely use it as it merges back with other lanes at a roundabout and it clearly causes them issues with other vehicles not wanting to yield to them.
But on the road itself, different picture, full of close passes, left hooks and must get in fronts, just like this example, for context that strip of what looks like dirt on the left is actually a pavement.
brooksby wrote:
I stated on another thread that general incidents on the road don’t fall under HASAWA.
However, when the driver is doing so whilst in the line of their work, they most certainly should, and could, be prosecuted by the HSE.
Edit: It would be interesting to know whether these near-misses have been logged in teh accident book….
brooksby wrote:
Agreed. But they are great for breezing past all the traffic when they are not blocked by a row of buses.
Fallacy – bus lanes are great
Fallacy – bus lanes are great for cyclists! Tons of links there for the interested but we probaby all know.
I’d disagree. I use bus lanes
I’d disagree. I use bus lanes in North london and find its an easier run when the lanes are in operation than when they arent.
I think a common mistake is to ride right up the back of a stopping bus and try to pull out . Its better to pull out early.
nicmason wrote:
I see the same with parked cars and people leaving it too late.
Though when the bus lane is
Though when the bus lane is operating there should be no parked cars which is one of their advantages.
nicmason wrote:
Good for you and I personally do OK in bus lanes but I know people who don’t and won’t. They’re not a solution to “but where do we put the bikes” (for reasons put more effectively than me in that link). Aside from the argument when you say you find it’s easier when they’re in operation is that because there are no cars parked there?
At least round Edinburgh they seem to operate be pretty variable hours. What surprised me is that the amount of bus lanes where parking is permitted. Also even bus lanes aren’t continuous – they come and go like cycle lanes.
I think in Edinburgh we
I think in Edinburgh we benefit from decently trained drivers. I really hate leaving work just before the bus lane hours end at 6.30 pm because all the arses decide to rush into the bus lane (Queen Street / York Place east bound in particular).
I didn’t mean in a bus lane.
I didn’t mean in a bus lane. Just another example of leaving it too late.
nicmason wrote:
True. I’m more concerned when I have a double decker bus being driven about four feet from my back wheel, on a long straight bit where the bus driver could overtake but won’t because bus lane.
Where I was talking they
Where I was talking they actually do have a reasonably good cycle lane for people who average lower speeds. Unfortunately it is so good in places that most of the peds use it as it is smoother and actually further from the traffic then the normal pavement. Add to this there is one section of shared path with lots of street furniture and recently a temp bus stop which makes people queue over the path means that it is faster in the bus lane most times.
Although if I use my shopping hybrid, I do use the cycle path as I’m invariably slower anyway.
Yeah – I can see that
Yeah – I can see that understandably they’ve tacked something new on the side of a shit footway. Obviously they should have them the other way round, upgrading the footway to a cycle track. If this is actually a suitable place to do this of course. Often see the results of “it’s easier to do if we put it here” mindset. Maybe also a tipping point effect where until there’s sufficient infra and thus cyclists then the greater numbers of people on foot will nab it.
I hope stuff like this will all come out in the wash if Birmingham seriously get to their plan – or is it too far out from the centre?
Maybe we could redirect the energies of these yoof who’ve got PSPO’d from the town centres to claim the lanes here? For extra coverage rope in the time triallers / triathletes – with automatic bike bells of course.
Oh, what a surprise. Remco
Oh, what a surprise. Remco being Remco.
Re:WVA and the World
Re:WVA and the World Championships.
I have always wondered how the national organisations decide who will be put forward to try to win this. And how are they coached being as they come from different teams.
Countries like Slovakia where you have an obvious great rider, the choice is easy, although I suppose because he is so good his team mates can’t keep up with him to offer much support. But ones like Italy, Belgium, France or the Netherlands where you have such a selection of talent, who all could win it, then it must be a nightmare of a selection and getting them to follow orders as shown above.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
I’ve always wondered that… and thought it would be more interesting if there were no team orders allowed and everyone just raced.
well you pick a selection of
well you pick a selection of riders who feel able to have open and honest conversations with each other, know what there own strengths and weaknesses are, have rapport with one another, team build together and are willing to put aside personal ambition for the betterment of the overall goal, difficult obviously when theres a world championship at stake as that is a life changing thing for any rider that you cant really share with other riders on your national team.
but thats the ideal, I suppose you could argue the evidence is well none of them really work like that at all, and we know mostly from biogs of riders in these pre race team discussions the riders generally just default to what they know themselves or have worked out between each other rather then listen to what the coach says they should do and play it by ear as the race unfolds.
Speaking of “Live” coverage
Speaking of “Live” coverage of the Women’s Tour anyone notice Skys program guide still claims at midday its showing Live coverage on Eurosport (it’s not unless the ITT has gone very wrong), and all the printed listing guides as well still show a 12pm-2pm live slot…just interesting I thought.
“You should be in the effing
“You should be in the effing cycle lane”
“Is that because there is a cycle lane and I’m using a cycle? The clue is in the name, right?”
“Yeah. So effing get in it”
“Isn’t that a motorcar you’re driving”
“Yeah. So effing wot?”
“So why aren’t you using the motorway? The clue is in the name.”
“Eff off you effing eff. I’ll run you over you eff”. etc.
Anne Hidalgo shows that she
Anne Hidalgo shows that she knows the meaning of levelling up.
It shows what can be done when there’s the political will.
Before I even opened the page
Before I even opened the page and read the article, I thought “Stagecoach? Gotta be Staecoach.”, And yes I was right.
She’s not the only one to have harrassed by Stagecoach for not using the bike lane. One of the reasons I use Princess Road, where I just get “f*** me jesus that’s one foot” close passes from Stagecoach drivers instead.
Almost all the really scary
Almost all the really scary near misses I have experienced have been Stagecoach drivers. I have had so many double decker buses overtake me in the pinch points where a crossing island is in the road centre.
its funny because Vollering
its funny because Vollering was one of my picks for the overall GC, but I didnt think the ITT would shake things up at all, as it didnt feel long enough/technical enough for a specialist TT rider to gain that much time over their rivals, and certainly not a minute, oh well shows what I know 🙂
But I do know that what the last 3 stages lack in big hills (cliche alert none of them are flat) can more than be made up by the unpredictable stronger blustery winds theyll experience nearer the coast, but youd think its a manageable gap unless the unexpected happens.
I was predicting no
I was predicting no breakaways yesterday as the course was small and with no climbs as such. So welcome to the corner for making wrong guesses about the stages significances.