Dauphiné rider DQ’d for punching rival at 70kph; Cyclist causes havoc on anti-LTN group; ITV Highway Code episode annoys drivers; Battle of the cycling GKs; Longo Borghini conquers Black Mountain; More Ineos marginal clothing gains + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Bicycle races are coming your way…
Pub quiz question: Who won the eighteenth stage of the 1978 Tour de France which passed through Montreux, inspiring Freddie Mercury – in town with Queen to record the Jazz album – to write the single Bicycle Race?
(Scroll down for the answer)
A: Gerrie Knetemann – the Dutchman, who would win the world championships later that summer, took the first of his two Tour stage wins that year (his TI-Raleigh team also won the stage four TTT).
It’s never been confirmed if the sight of Roger Taylor on the side of the road inspired Knetemann to victory in Lausanne…
Happy Friday everyone!
“Making my blood boil”: ITV’s Highway Code programme annoys motorists
The changes to the Highway Code, designed to protect vulnerable road users, were the centre of an investigation on ITV’s Tonight programme last night (I know, six months behind the times, but this TV business doesn’t happen overnight…).
Compared to the rather inflammatory cycling safety segment on Countryfile a few weeks ago, the programme itself – from what I gathered by switching between it and the Women’s Tour highlights on ITV4 – was quite a balanced one.
It considered the actual changes to the Highway Code themselves, the extent to which motorists have been made aware of the revisions introduced in January (with vox pops at a classic car show in Eastbourne underlining how little people actually read the code), and the experiences of cyclists on the roads.
A poll conducted by the show found that 25 percent of people still believe that a car driver has right of way when turning left, and that half of those surveyed think that cyclists should stay to the left of the lane when approaching junctions – results which confirm Cycling UK’s belief (despite the hundreds, maybe thousands, of road.cc articles on the subject…) that the new changes haven’t been publicised enough.
So not so bad then, as far as these things go.
However, a quick glance at Twitter will tell you that not everything is well in car world, where the programme seemed to hit a nerve, judging by some of the tweets:
Just watched a programme heavily weighed in favour of cyclists and pedestrians in terms of the new highway code. After watching it as a motorist I have maintained my original feelings. Fuck cyclists.
— Andy Big Hands Hyde-Harrigan (@andyh1301) June 9, 2022
#whorulesbritainsroads #lewis #tonight making my blood boil, if cyclists are being given all the new rules perhaps they should start paying road tax,take a test and obey the highway code, perhaps stopping at red lights would be a good start!!!!
— MN16 ⚒️ 🏴…🏳️🌈…🇪🇺…🇬🇧 (@therealdavewest) June 9, 2022
Wernt roads invented for cars? Arnt drivers the only ones charged for using roads? Cyclists are an addition. Surely cars are priority they pay for the priveldge…. #whorulesbritainsroads
— Ghostface Pique (@pk0808) June 9, 2022
Cyclists approaching junctions side roads etc, should take obvious note and take responsibility themselves, and not rely solely on driver being aware of the cyclist! 🤔🤗
#Whorulesbritainsroads— Jenny (@ladderack) June 9, 2022
Cyclists….what a f””kin joke. Accident causers #whorulesbritainsroads
— Ghostface Pique (@pk0808) June 9, 2022
#WhoRulesBritainsRoads notice how they mentioned nothing about cyclist hitting pedestrians just picking on car drivers again
— tony gallagher (@tonyturtle1964) June 9, 2022
Cyclists should be banned from our roads. Make them pedal through muddy fields in their stupid Lycra as punishment for getting in the way of motorists.. Don’t get me started on their helmets that are normally worn on ‘special’ buses #whorulesbritainsroads
— Michael (@riprap1) June 9, 2022
(Sounds like a pleasant chap…)
Perhaps drivers would engage if cyclists were registered with insurance and penalised for jumping lights? #whorulesbritainsroads
— Toni Russo 💜🤍💚 💙 (@amnerisuk) June 9, 2022
Be positive to the changes in the new code. Many cyclists are mavericks who damage cars and cause accidents by ignoring the code. Rules should apply to everyone.
— Toni Russo 💜🤍💚 💙 (@amnerisuk) June 10, 2022
For the life of me I can’t think we would need an updated Highway Code…
Motorists are so nice and understanding after all. https://t.co/2eRVMcW0FH— Bike Rogers (@bike_rogers) June 9, 2022
Neither can I, neither can I….
Foster versus Mignolet: the battle of the cycling goalkeepers
So @BenFoster, @LaurensDePlus reckons his boy @SMignolet is faster than you on the bike 👀. What you saying for 🇬🇧 vs 🇧🇪??? We are preparing well for it here in France while you lay on the beach Foz 🤣
— Tao Geoghegan Hart (@taogeoghegan) June 9, 2022
Is Ben Foster’s reign as the cycling goalkeeper under threat?
Well, according to Ineos rider Laurens De Plus, former Sunderland and Liverpool shot stopper Simon Mignolet is also no slouch on a bike, prompting team mate Tao Geoghegan Hart to challenge the pair to a race…
England versus Belgium, ex-Man United versus ex-Liverpool, 60cm frame versus 60cm frame – forget the Dauphiné, this is the pre-Tour warm up the world needs.
So… how did I get involved in this conversation? 😅
— Simon Mignolet (@SMignolet) June 10, 2022
I can see it now, live on YouTube, hashtags galore, first to the lighthouse on Mallorca’s Cap de Formentor.
Although, by the sounds of things, big Ben needs a couple of spins up the Sa Calobra to get himself into race shape…
🤣 ahahahaha. All talk but now you have to back it up foz. My spies tell me you barely touched your bike in Mallorca 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
— Tao Geoghegan Hart (@taogeoghegan) June 9, 2022
Juan Ayuso out of Dauphiné with fever and stomach issues
Sadly Juan Ayuso fell ill yesterday with fever and will not start today’s stage of the #Dauphine.
Gell well soon Juan 🙏 pic.twitter.com/UINkoJz1zL
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) June 10, 2022
A blow for my fantasy league team here (and the rider himself, obviously), as 19-year-old Spanish sensation Juan Ayuso has been forced to withdraw from the Critérium du Dauphiné after coming down with a nasty illness.
The UAE Team Emirates rider, who has been consistently impressive during his first full year in the pro ranks and was sitting eighth on GC this morning, reportedly complained of discomfort and diarrhoea before yesterday’s stage.
For some reason – it certainly wasn’t to protect his or the peloton’s health – Ayuso was allowed to continue on stage five to Chaintré, which resulted in him developing a fever and mild dehydration (I’m shocked), leading to his withdrawal from the race this morning.
We performed a Covid test which returned negative but upon review this morning, his fever had not abated and his condition had not improved overnight. He was therefore withdrawn from further participation in the event.”
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) June 10, 2022
Needless to say, some weren’t impressed with UAE’s somewhat laissez-faire, 1960s-style approach to their rider’s health:
I’m no doctor but not sure putting a rider with diarrhea on a bike all day is a good idea..No wonder he was dehydrated. https://t.co/WCgD5dVpXq
— Cyclingtakes (@cyclingtakes) June 10, 2022
No doctor should let him start with these symptoms.
— Jonas Creteur (@jonas_creteur) June 10, 2022
Not good for him and also potentially dangerous for the others in the peloton.
— Susan Westemeyer (@WestemeyerSusan) June 10, 2022
Move over Ganna’s flaps, step forward Rowe’s parachute pockets
The Ineos Grenadiers, once again returning to the forefront of cycling innovation…
Introducing the most stylish man in cycling… 🫣🫠 @LukeRowe1990 pic.twitter.com/K7MQrcl94F
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) June 9, 2022
What exactly is that he’s nearly wearing ? 😂
— Carol Nairn (@CarolNairn) June 9, 2022
It’s about as aerodynamic as an anchor whatever it is
— Stevie Carnie (@StevieCarnie) June 9, 2022
All I can think of now is @RealStephens on comms saying about the lost wattage this would cause 😂
— Sean Poole (@SPoole89) June 9, 2022
Cyclists cautioned by police for riding on Isle of Man TT course
Two groups of cyclists attending the Isle of Man TT have been cautioned for riding their bikes on the Mountain Road, a key part of the road race course which is shut to cyclists for the two-week duration of the event.
While cyclists are banned from the A18 that connects Douglas and Ramsey during the TT period, a temporary one-way system for motor traffic is also implemented to increase road safety.
The cyclists, comprised of two separate groups from Swindon and Leeds, were arrested for riding the wrong way up the one-way system at a time when the road was closed to all vehicles to allow emergency services to treat a motorbike rider who had been injured.
Police told the BBC that the cyclists’ “dangerous action” could have been worse if the road had been open.
“Had they been on it when we opened it again, we would have sent hundreds of bikes whizzing towards them”, Sgt Andrew Reed said.
Reed also advised visitors to the TT to “do your research” concerning road closures and to adhere to the “clear warning signs” on the Mountain Road.
He added that police are “not persecuting cyclists, it is purely a safety factor that anything that is slow moving on that Mountain Road during TT, we don’t want there for safety.”
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Ilnur Zakarin retires following Gazprom-RusVelo suspension
It’s a fittingly inauspicious end to the career of one of this generation’s most mercurial riders, as Ilnur Zakarin confirms that he will retire from professional cycling after his Gazprom-RusVelo squad ceased activities in the wake of the UCI’s ban on Russian-backed teams.
After originally planning to retire at the end of 2022, the 32-year-old, who enjoyed his best years while leading his home Katusha team in the mid-2010s, announced this week on Instagram that he was calling an end to his decade-long career in the middle of the season to concentrate on Inex Club, a Cyprus-based training company for amateurs and pros.
“I officially announce my retirement from [my] cycle sport career,” he wrote.
“I’ve had more than 20 years of different competitions, success and obstacles, achievements and failures. Now I’m ready to move on. This is a new stage and a new start.
“I’m starting a new chapter of my life, and it’s still tied to sports.
“Inex Club is a club for cycling lovers, that provides lots of opportunities. This is what I really like doing, and something I’m going to give myself into.”
The Tatarstan-born rider’s career was perhaps marked from the outset by a two-year doping ban for an anabolic steroid in 2009, when Zakarin was just 19.
He eventually made his way to the top of the sport in 2015 after signing for Katusha, where he established himself as a gifted if fragile stage racer.
GC success at the Tour de Romandie and a Giro d’Italia stage win during his debut season at the Russian WorldTour outfit were followed a year later by victory in the mountains at the Tour de France.
His win at the Tour came less than two months after breaking his collarbone in a horrific crash at the Giro, on the same descent of the Colle dell’Agnello which dramatically dashed the hopes of pink jersey Steven Kruijswijk.
Firmly cemented as Russia’s best grand tour hope, in 2017 Zakarin finished fifth at the Giro and third overall at the Vuelta a España behind winner Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali, before adding a top ten at the Tour in 2018 and another Giro mountain stage in 2019.
However, an ill-starred spell at the doomed CCC outfit in 2020 and the sporting repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have seen Zakarin’s career peter out, and with no takers in a crowded transfer market, the enigmatic 32-year-old’s career ends just as it started, in controversy and confusion.
One bike for three tanks of petrol, thanks...
You can get a serviceable new bike for less than 3 tanks of fuel. https://t.co/TITCTLg2eO pic.twitter.com/6k8coiInVe
— Real Gaz on a proper bike #fbpe (@gazza_d) June 9, 2022
Race updates: Longo Borghini conquers Black Mountain, as Ferron foils the break
Elisa Longo Borghini (@TrekSegafredo) wins stage five of the Women’s Tour atop Black Mountain in Carmarthenshire 🏆 pic.twitter.com/pVuQ9qiEpL
— The Women’s Tour (@thewomenstour) June 10, 2022
There are a few Black Mountains in Wales (and one in Belfast too), but the one climbed today at the Women’s Tour, in the west of the Brecon Beacons near Llangadog, belongs to Italy.
On what was only the second hilltop finish in the race’s history, Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini proved the strongest of a select group after a flurry of attacks on the windswept 7.2 kilometre climb which decided this year’s queen stage.
Queen of the Black Mountain 👑#WomensTour #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/XO9qoSyD4V
— The Women’s Tour (@thewomenstour) June 10, 2022
The Trek-Segafredo rider beat Kasia Niewiadoma (who managed to overcome what appeared to be a late mechanical problem in the closing kilometres) and race leader Grace Brown in a reshuffle of yesterday’s stage to draw level with the Australian at the top of the GC, setting things up nicely for an intriguing final run-in to Oxford tomorrow.
When you’re one day closer to winning the Women’s Tour 😃#WomensTour #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/ZOhUnWbFhF
— The Women’s Tour (@thewomenstour) June 10, 2022
As a number of riders, including Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, Riejanne Markus, Joss Lowden and Longo Borghini herself, attacked relentlessly on the final climb, the in-form Brown looked in control.
But when American BikeExchange-Jayco rider Kristen Faulkner surged within the final kilometre, cracks began to show in the seemingly impenetrable Australian’s armour.
However, despite being slightly baulked by Faulkner as Longo Borghini launched her sprint, Brown dug deep to retain the overall lead.
But with only two seconds separating Brown, Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma, there’s still all to play for on the roads around Oxford. Which I’m sure will make the organisers, if not the riders, rub their hands with glee.
Valentín Ferron takes Stage 6 of Criterium du Dauphine! 🙌#Dauphine | @TeamTotalEnrg pic.twitter.com/H4sCcu3lzt
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 10, 2022
Meanwhile at the Critérium du Dauphiné, Valentin Ferron gave the slip to his dithering breakaway companions with a perfectly timed attack within the closing 1.5 kilometres to win into Gap, one of the Tour de France’s iconic finish towns (and one of the most infuriating, if you’re a journalist stuck in one of its famous traffic jams).
24-year-old Ferron – perhaps the least heralded of the strong six-man group that included Pierre Rolland, Warren Barguil and Andrea Bagioli – showcased both strength and an impressive tactical acumen to take the first win of his young career and the second of the race for his TotalEnergies team after Alexis Vuillermoz’s breakaway win on stage two.
Thirty seconds behind, yellow jersey Wout van Aert cruised home in twelfth, his joint-third lowest result of 2022. Tut tut.
Decent Pass of the Day
Someone at Anglian Home Improvements either is a cyclist or paid attention at driving school (or both!) 👍 pic.twitter.com/eCrBsdgky9
— Dave McCraw (@david_mccraw) June 9, 2022
“I’d had it up to here with him”: Argy bargy at the Dauphiné, as Molano disqualified for punching Page
“You cannot hit somebody on the head!”
See the moment where Juan Sebastian Molano appears to lash out at Hugo Page 👀👀#Dauphine pic.twitter.com/ph7ieM5vVP
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 10, 2022
In a bid to liven things up on what was a relatively quiet day at the Dauphiné, UAE Team Emirates sprinter Juan Sebastián Molano decided to engage in a spot of fisticuffs with French neo-pro Hugo Page, resulting in his disqualification from the race.
The incident, which happened with just over nine kilometres to go, saw Molano (in the bottom left corner of the video) grab hold of green jersey wearer Page or his bike after the 20-year-old Intermarché rider drifted across the Colombian’s path.
Molano then gave the Frenchman an earful before landing what appeared to be a pretty heavy punch to Page’s head, after which his UAE teammates pleaded with their sprinter to calm.
The two riders – who both then sprinted to places in the top 15, Molano even brazenly leading the bunch home – continued to argue after the finish line in Gap, with a clearly furious Molano hitting Page again at least once, as captured on Danish TV:
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) June 10, 2022
The pair weren’t holding back in their post-race interviews either (using just their words thankfully, this time):
Molano currently waiting for the commissaires’ decision on whether he’ll be DQ’ed. He just told me on Page: ‘It’s not the first time I’ve had problems with this guy at the race. I’m sorry but I’d had it up to here with him.’
Page said much the same about Molano.
DQ seems sure.
— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) June 10, 2022
Unsurprisingly, the commissaires have since disqualified the Colombian for his spot of on-bike UFC, though he may still pick up a prize at the end of the day:
Overheard the pressroom: “Molano wins most combative prize today at the Dauphiné”
— Andrew Hood (@EuroHoody) June 10, 2022
When cyclists attack: A short history of fighting in the peloton
As shocking as it was, Juan Sebastián Molano’s powerful right hook at the Dauphiné today wasn’t the first time that pro bike riders – famous, of course, for their punching power – have come to blows in the middle of the peloton or after the finish line.
(Though Molano does now hold the distinction of doing both on the same afternoon…)
On a scorching hot day at the 2010 Tour de France, it was a case of handbags and spokes, as future world champion Rui Costa and a wheel-waving Carlos Barredo gave the crowd at the finish a bonus WWF feature, after tempers had flared with 20km to go on the stage.
Barredo later called Costa to apologise, and presumably paid his Quick Step team back for the wheel he had brandished as a weapon.
While Barredo and Costa both got away with fines and time penalties, Tony Martin and Luke Rowe weren’t so lucky at the 2019 Tour, as the two men – key domestiques for their Jumbo-Visma and Ineos teams respectively – were disqualified for an altercation on the road to Gap (what is it with Gap, eh?), which saw Rowe shove the German time triallist after Martin appeared to force the Welshman off the road.
Look what Rowe did. pic.twitter.com/zBqKRYr6ed
— kd (@kd2357) July 24, 2019
And as it was 2019, we were treated to a team-organised social media video apology as Rowe and Martin pleaded forgiveness (their appeal to be reinstated was, unsurprisingly, rejected):
A joint interview with @LukeRowe1990 and @JumboVismaRoad‘s @tonymartin85 about today’s disqualification from #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/MPEqwWi7yv
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) July 24, 2019
Speaking of Ineos, the rider every cycling fan loves to hate, Paris-Roubaix almost winner Gianni Moscon, had his fair share of mid-peloton scrapes while riding for the British team:
Moscon werpt boos andermans fiets in de beek na deze valpartij. De gevolgen zijn zwaar: diskwalificatie pic.twitter.com/QHb3L94RHk
— sporza (@sporza) March 1, 2020
> Gianni Moscon disqualified from Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne for throwing bike at another rider
Gianni Moscon exclu du #TDF2018 après avoir frappé un coureur Fortuneo ! pic.twitter.com/JzwOi5l8To
— Tout Le Sport (@toutlesport) July 22, 2018
> Team Sky’s Gianni Moscon thrown out of Tour de France for hitting another rider
But it’s alright, those “suspensions” imposed by the team (which always happened to coincide with training periods, funny enough) really helped the Italian learn his lesson, eh?
And, finally, a retro one to round things up, as Banesto’s Ramon Gonzalez Arrieta and Carrera’s Leonardo Sierra duked it out, round after round, at the 1995 Vuelta:
Last word, naturally, to former world champion and cycling fanatic, Mike Tyson:
Cyclist causes havoc on anti-LTN ‘One Chiswick’ Facebook group
Ah, One Chiswick, we hardly knew ye.
As the anti-LTN and cycle lane group passes into the great traffic jam in the sky – along with some confidential security info and almost £50,000 of its supporters’ money – cyclists everywhere have paid their respects:
We are sad to announce the death of OneChiswick after a long illness. Mourned by @JoannaBiddolph @JaneODonnell1 @margiefrew Survived by an abusive Facebook group. Donations in lieu of flowers to lawyers and consultants pic.twitter.com/Ovhp9kIAJd
— One Chiswick (@onechiswick) June 9, 2022
— Evan P (@YourSUVsucks) June 9, 2022
I think some flowers with their heads cut off would be appropriate, tbh?
— Simon 🪗 (@mzdt) June 9, 2022
(For the uninitiated: Jeremy Vine accused of ‘bullying’ Anti Low Traffic Neighbourhood group)
Where’s all the money?? Spent on a slap up meal for the wake?
— Paul Tutton (@tuttonp) June 9, 2022
‘A short, unhappy and ultimately unproductive life’
— adrian day (@adrianday1) June 9, 2022
One Chiswick is dead, long live the One Chiswick Facebook group!
With the zombified corpse limping on (no doubt screaming at children to “get off your bikes or I’ll eat your brains”), one cyclist has managed to sneak into the inner circle, causing havoc in the comments:
I don’t know how this has happened, but someone who likes cycling has been allowed onto the Anti-Cycling Facebook page “One Chiswick” and has caused an absolute eruption. Tempers are fraying since the group lost £47,000 of their supporters’ money on bungled legal actions pic.twitter.com/4pSMFpIGcg
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) June 10, 2022
That said, the so-called “thought leader” of One Chiswick is David Giles, the man who shouted GET OFF YOUR BIKES at a group of young children, so nothing I see on that website surprises me.pic.twitter.com/9hzC9Ln6E0
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) June 10, 2022
Terrific stuff.
Bicycle races are coming your way…
Pub quiz question: Who won the eighteenth stage of the 1978 Tour de France which passed through Montreux, inspiring Freddie Mercury – in town with Queen to record the Jazz album – to write the single Bicycle Race?
(Scroll down for the answer)
A: Gerrie Knetemann – the Dutchman, who would win the world championships later that summer, took the first of his two Tour stage wins that year (his TI-Raleigh team also won the stage four TTT).
It’s never been confirmed if the sight of Roger Taylor on the side of the road inspired Knetemann to victory in Lausanne…
Happy Friday everyone!
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Latest Comments
See Hambinis recent you tube video on the quality of BMC frames.
Jetmans Dad "Food delivery riders in particular are riding overpowered 'eBikes' that are basically mopeds … powered only via the throttle without pedalling at significantly more than 15mph. Problem is they look like normal bikes/ebikes and not like mopeds so that is what people describe them as." Indeed, mistaken identification of e-motorcycles as bicycles is a significant problem because different regulations and training apply, so different enforcement. Even worse are the illegaly modified e-motorcycles that are not operated as such, without training, insurance and compliance generally. Zero hour employment contracts and employers taking no practical responsibility make it worse yet. Then there's the health impacts on customers that fall on taxpayers through the NHS.
I might be cynical about Police re-organisations but how many new senior officer posts will be created in this re-organisation.
I have to put it back into mode eight so rarely that I will have to open up the manual. Normally when I stick it on the bars when I had to send my r4 back to Hope. Or if it seemed to go a bit weird. Can't remember the last time.
I have nothing but praise for my helmet mounted Exposure Axis, running eight years now. Battery only does two and a bit commutes now, so I'm going to either upgrade to the Diablo or see if they will upgrade the battery. If they'd released their STVZo road/4k lumens when your giving it some going downhill off road light I would have bought it first day. Mode 8 for me, low low, good mid and top high, decided after a couple of weeks of use and I've never changed. I use the button or the tap function (Tap 2 for me) to cycle through the power levels. Exceptional helmet light. The button is it's weak point, but very livable, I am glad of the tap function. It can sometimes take a few presses to get the flashing bit with its press and hold, but not for too long because that's off.
Hard to see who replies on any thread. I only visit the site a couple of times a week as it is not usable.
People who want to travel safely in a 20 mph area, so that no motor vehicle tries to overtake them, need to be capable of 20 mph so get no assistance at all from a legal e-bike that provides 15.5 mph. So the e-bike regulations are broken because they encourage unsafe overtaking by impatient drivers (5 mph). In 30 mph roads, the 10 mph difference would still allow safe overtaking to be completed in short distances. So the low speed 15.5 is less safe in practice not safer.
I have been doing some cross-checking between my records and the police dataset How do you do that? The spreadsheet has been designed to ensure that you can't. There's no unique code for each incident, so why haven't they included that? There are many incidents dated from the same location on the same day by the same despised reporter category (cyclist) for the same offender category (such as 'car'). The great majority of intended (as usual in these misleading 'databases', it's not the real outcome) outcomes is the entirely useless 'warning letter'. Is there anybody out there who believes that the average police officer could rouse either the wit or the willingness to determine whether the offender has received a warning letter previously?! Some people will be receiving numerous such letters to throw in the bin, which encourages them to repeat the offence. As for the claimed 'positive outcome'!- only the most deluded could believe that
I pretty much have stopped bothering. I also find when I come to the site it loads the previous days page and I have to refresh to see today’s front page.
I regularly submit reports to A&S Police, and keep detailed records of what I have submitted, and the responses. I have been doing some cross-checking between my records and the police dataset. I'm afraid correlation is patchy at best. So, I am not confident in the dataset's accuracy. Further, where I can be fairly certain of a correlation, it's been largely warning letters issued for very clear video evidence of hand-held mobile phone use whilst driving. No wonder I see so many doing so. They have nothing much to fear. :o( Should I keep bothering?
37 thoughts on “Dauphiné rider DQ’d for punching rival at 70kph; Cyclist causes havoc on anti-LTN group; ITV Highway Code episode annoys drivers; Battle of the cycling GKs; Longo Borghini conquers Black Mountain; More Ineos marginal clothing gains + more on the live blog”
HOUSE!
HOUSE!
I thought the programme was
I thought the programme was surprisingly good. The comments about it are as expected by the sort of dimwits who probably have trouble tying their own shoelaces.
It seems that driving with a
It seems that driving with a phone in one hand and a drink in the other is actually illegal unless your name is Frank Lampard.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Interesting how that video seems to be under the jurisdiction of Staffordshire police. I wonder if the driver will be able to contest their conviction because it was only filmed on one camera……..
Please tell can someone tell
Please tell can someone tell the idiot “weren’t roads invented for cars” that:
1. Roads existed long before cars, perhaps she should refresh their memory of, i dunno, “Roman Roads”, cart paths etc.
2. Educate them that roads were in fact paved for cyclists so by their own logic they can foxtrott oscar and get their gas guzzler off the paved roads which were “invented for” cyclists!
You really couldn’t make up some of the idiocy of self-proclaimed “motorists”.
** Disclaimer – like most of us on here, I use roads in motor vehicles, on my bike and as a pedestrian but some of the frothy mouthers are just hilarious.
One of those tweeters – Toni
One of those tweeters – Toni Russo – is, according to her twitter bio, a ‘media expert on obesity issues’.
Steve K wrote:
Andy Big Hands Hyde-Harrigan (“Fuck cyclists”) is a National Express bus driver, tweeting under his real, easily recognisable name. He won’t allow replies to his tweet so have tweeted National Express to ask what they think of these sort of opinions from their drivers.
Andy Big Hands Hyde-Harrigan
Andy Big Hands Hyde-Harrigan (“Fuck cyclists”) is a National Express bus driver, tweeting under his real, easily recognisable name
Good work RH, but companies like National Express and Stagecoach never take any actual action over driver behaviour- they only pretend to. I hope to hear from you about any weaselling they try on
Steve K wrote:
Toni Russo “I haven’t generalised. Just said other road users should be held to account like motorists.”
also Toni Russo “Just saying there would be more tolerance if cyclists followed rules and were held to account”
Obviously her understanding of the word generalised is different from the actual definition. I’m pretty sure that last sentence is a sweeping generalisation that cyclists don’t follow the rules
“Held to account” like the 80
“Held to account” like the 80% of motorists who speed in 20mph areas?
Sorry to pick you up on an
Sorry to pick you up on an error there Steve, it’s more like 85%, with 90% at the weekend.
Whilst the programme was
Whilst the programme was pretty good, it was a bit too nice to really hit home. I would have liked to see a montage of clips showing the carnage caused by vehicles to emphasise why the changes were much needed. Followed by interviews with the emergency service personnel who deal with the consequences and vets who have to euthanise horses.
I was pleasantly surprised by
I was pleasantly surprised by this programme too. It got most of the facts right and avoided lazy stereotypes.
Did chuckle at the hard-done-to lady taxi driver (16m50s), who finds driving exhausting as you have to keep your eyes on the road constantly. I wonder how she managed before?!
Personally I think that’s
Personally I think that’s exactly the sort of thing that’s missing (education) – remember all those public road safety ads we used to get in the 70s and 80s?
Twitter type noise & clickbait articles in the mainstream media (the 5 daily road deaths not being newsworthy) just seek reaction and almost deliberately miss the fundamental fact that when things go wrong when you are behind the wheel, the impact on those around you, especially more vulnerable road users, is potentially lethal. Too many drivers have lost sight of that (for all kinds of reasons) which is why they always bleat on about how unfair it is that they have to “pay” to use the (public) roads & see things like testing and insurance as just a tax or inconvenience that singles out drivers, rather than being a demonstration that you can be trusted to safely operate a mobile ton or two of metal in a public environment. When you operate a vehicle on public roads you pose a far bigger danger to cyclists and peds (and horse riders) than they ever will to you – it’s not rocket science.
I’ve never severely injured or killed a car, let alone its drivist, or a pedestrian whilst on my bike. I’m actually 3-0 down to cars in terms of injuries/bikes written off (I’m sorry I know I’m not doing my part in this “war” on motorists,) but hey, I once read in the Daily Heil that one of them #bloodycyclists ran a red light, so f**k ’em right?
I don’t usually read comments
I don’t usually read comments from morons, but decided on this occasion to see just what the decidedly sub-normal members of the ‘roads are for cars’ community are prepared to write in order that we can see just how dim they are
Just thought I’d see what
Just thought I’d see what THINK! are up to. Nothing new I’m afraid.
https://www.think.gov.uk/campaign/highway-code-changes/
It does say:
“The campaign will consist of two phases – the first phase in February will raise awareness of changes to The Highway Code and the second phase in May/June will seek to drive behaviour change.”
I’m not holding my breath
So kind of all those
So kind of all those petrolheads to demonstrate exactly why the new rules are so vital.
Re: TT
Re: TT
Another three racers killed this year so far, only one year when the race was run in the last 80 when someone wasn’t killed.
IoM Police. “Those bloody cyclists could have caused an accident”.
The cyclists would have been
The cyclists would have been killed outright if the road had re-opened to traffic. This video shows how the one way mountain section is ridden by non race participants during the TT fortnight.A lump of polystyrene on your head wont save you from 200kg of Superbike hitting you on that road.
https://youtu.be/yxTM6G18mUk
I know. Just pointing out
I know. Just pointing out that if the IoM Police wanted to save lives at the event, then Ban it.
The TT is another of these
The TT is another of these “historic” events where the Powers That Be don’t care how many deaths occur (up to a point, I hope). It’s like the Grand National, where “several” horses get killed every single year…
brooksby wrote:
At least the TT riders have a free choice regarding their participation…
True.
You have a point.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Is that why the horses have long faces?
A fair point, but the
A fair point, but the competitors willingly accept those risks & consequences. The public don’t need to, if they follow the simple rules.
Stewards and bystanders have
Stewards and bystanders have also been killed.
I’m unsure of the amount of competitors, but I’m assuming scaling it up for the amount in Ride London, do you think they would have happened if 50+ people died each year?
Yet the local Government let it go on each year without any feedback to try to reduce deaths and actually seem to revel that it is so dangerous.
Have you ever attended the TT
Have you ever attended the TT? Safety has massively improved over the years. However motorsport is dangerous, road racing even more so. The risks are accepted by those taking part and spectating. Comparing it to Ride London is just plain silly.
Riding a bicycle on the course during the TT weeks is an incredibly stupid thing to do. You really would need to be without any working senses to miss that the TT is taking place.
I bet the TT crowd will be so
I bet the TT crowd will be so happy as they have 5 dead so far. Best race in years. It is a state sanctioned Death Race 2000.
As you seem to be “in the know” on that scene, can you tell me how many other courses have guaranteed at least one Moto-Racer death a year for the past 90 years when it is run? When I try to search they only two have pages that come up is a wiki for deaths at the TT, (has its own wiki page for fatalities) and one for MotoSport GP’s which only covers top level and has IoM on there when it used to be one of those. Then it was removed I suspect because it claimed 36 lives then compared to the next nearest of 10.
I think the next death fetishists favourite might be the Southern 100 which has 29 deaths over it’s run since the its start in 1950’s….. which is also run on the IoM.
At least know we know the legs on the flag are the bits they find at the end of the racing week.
How many deaths in any sport
How many deaths in any sport/sport event are accetable?
Better to die without ever
Better to die without ever having lived then? Ban everything with an element of risk, skiing, rock climbing, paragliding, cycling. Then we can all expire quietly in a home, taking a last breath wondering at what could have been. You really have no idea about the family bonds in the road racing community but are happy to ban it because you don’t do it. It’s not about death, it is a celebration of actually living life.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
OK, we get it – you don’t like the Isle of Man TT.
But no-one forces the riders, marshals or spectators to attend, they all go because they want to. Or is it that you not like them being able to choose to do that?
Perhaps we should ban people from climbing Snowdon, Ben Nevis etc too while you’re at it, since idiots still go up there in a t-shirt and sandals or climb mountains in bad weather. And if you were in charge no-one would be allowed to go out to sea in a boat or on a board since the RNLI are forever being called out to rescue those fools who put themselves in danger.
TBH I’m far more worried about drivers and motorcyclists hooning about on public roads like they are racetracks when I’m riding to work rather than one on a small rock in the Irish Sea where parts of it really are a racetrack (albeit only for a few hours on a handful of days a year).
You don’t know what you’re
You don’t know what you’re taking about; MotoSport GP??? Nobody calls it that..it’s MotoGP.
Best not to comment, I’d say….
Make that 5 https://www
Make that 5 🙁 https://www.autosport.com/roadracing/news/father-and-son-sidecar-crew-tragically-die-in-isle-of-man-tt-crash-on-friday/10319894/
Looking at some of the
Looking at some of the comments its obvious to me why we need rules in the first place, muppets…
In a fair and just country,
In a fair and just country, all those Tweeters should immediately have their licence revoked as they have provided evidence that they are not fit to be behind the wheel of a vehicle. Some of the more aggressive posters should also be prosecuted. Sadly, there’s no helping the ignorant (road tax anyone?).
Re therealdavewest’s tweet.
Re therealdavewest’s tweet. Just goes to show that simply being pro-LGBT and pro-EU doesn’t automatically mean the sun shine out your arse. Seems he’s got more in common with the likes of Farage than he’d like to admit.
How speshul have you got to
How speshul have you got to be to rock up to IoM TT on a pushrod?