“He could do it twice in my best time”: Cycling world in meltdown over Tom Pidcock’s Sa Calobra time; Incredible on-bike footage of Buenos Aires erupting at winning penalty; Council defends cycling roundabout; Weekend round-up + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
What you missed this weekend
Right, that was a frantic start to the new week! Apologies for the lateness of the blog, Tom Pidcock required some urgent writing elsewhere…
> Tom Pidcock smashes Sa Calobra KOM by nearly two minutes
I’m back now at your live blogging service, so let’s start by rounding-up what you might have missed this weekend. The big news of the weekend — slightly overshadowed yesterday teatime by someone called Messi — is that Cav’s reportedly signed a contract…
> Mark Cavendish reported to have signed for Astana
Elsewhere on the site this weekend:
> Argentina fans cycle 10,000 miles to Qatar for World Cup final
> Rode to victory! Check out Wout van Aert’s Cervélo R5-CX cyclocross bike
The only opinion on Cav's rumoured Astana transfer you need to hear
HERE WE GO! Inspired by the soccer World Cup, Mark Cavendish MBE is considering a transfer to Astana, who have won the Kazakh Premier League seven times and will be hoping to qualify for the Champions League of Soccer again next season. pic.twitter.com/W4IvcTfBRJ
— UK Cycling Expert (@ukcyclingexpert) December 19, 2022
Festive 500: Winter cycling challenge tips and tricks
Incredible on-bike footage of Buenos Aires erupting at winning penalty
Here’s the best video you’ll see all week…
Moments before the last penalty kick, in Buenos Aires pic.twitter.com/nPIdYged8T
— nicole ruiz (@nwilliams030) December 19, 2022
Council admits cycling roundabout "created debate" but also had "positive feedback"
Remember this?
Mike McCusker, the lead member for planning and sustainable development at Salford’s Labour-run council, has accepted the cycling roundabout which caused much noise on social media “created debate” but also received “positive feedback”.
“This is possibly the first roundabout of its kind in the country, so it is certainly creating some debate and we have had a lot of positive feedback,” he said.
“The roundabout allows pedestrians to cross the junction safely in two short moves so they only have to be aware of one lane of cycle traffic at a time. It provides a quicker crossing for them and is safer than trying to cross a wider junction with traffic from both directions.
“It has been designed to accommodate people on foot or in wheelchairs or pushing buggies. Cyclists circulate round it like a ‘normal’ road roundabout so they, too, can get round this junction safely without putting pedestrians in danger.”
Francis Cade's USA-crossing epic is going well...
I am sat in a casino in the desert listening to jingle bells contemplating my life choices
— Francis Cade (@Francis_Cade) December 18, 2022
More seriously though, the fundraising page is up to £91,715 as Francis and Justin near a Christmas on the road a long way from home…
Wrestling Filippo Ganna, Prévot piggbacks, Hayter's hangover... inside the Ineos Grenadiers end-of-season party
— Caley Fretz (@CaleyFretz) December 19, 2022
Too much Ineos news today… Pidcock’s KOM, the new kit launch (which is getting a well-humoured online reception, seen above) and now the inside scoop from the team’s big off-season bash…
Courtesy of the latest episode of Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe’s ‘Watts Occurring’ podcast we’ve got the gossip, including young Leo Hayter having a few too many and Rowe vs Ganna for the Ineos wrestling championship.
“A few boys got carried off,” G explained. “It was pretty grim, I couldn’t imagine being bar staff working there sober.”
And apparently leading the way was new signing Pauline Ferrand-Prévot… “She can drink,” a slightly shellshocked sounding Thomas continued. “Halfway through she goes to me ‘jump on my back’ and I’m like ‘are you sure? I’m quite heavy, especially in off-season’. Jumped on half expecting to just fall on my face but fair play she held me up, running around the dance floor, I was giving it no hands… big night.
“Leo [Hayter] got carried off first, puking up outside.”
“Someone said ‘have you seen the state of Leo?’,” Rowe picked up the story. “He’s upstairs, outside, lying in a pile of spew, so yeah he went to bed early.
“I put myself to bed after the party when everyone was outside getting taxis to a club. I knew where I was but I was stumbling around and put myself to bed. Ganna came up with me and we started wrestling, woke up in the morning with a few bruises. If you’re going to wrestle someone in the team… I picked the wrong guy…”
All the while Tom P was presumably outside breaking the Everesting record or something silly…
Why cyclists don't use cycle lanes... (Austrian edition)
Main cycle route in Vienna… https://t.co/90tFJNXjkH
— Mark Wagenbuur (@BicycleDutch) December 19, 2022
Is there another way to fetch your Christmas tree?
Is there another way to fetch your Christmas tree? The @ternbicycles did a fine job 👌🎄 pic.twitter.com/fiRVHETaQV
— Charlotte Baker (@charlie_baker23) December 18, 2022
Motorists receive just 71 fines in three years for dangerously overtaking cyclists
An interesting story in The Irish Times this weekend showed that over in Ireland motorists had received just 71 fines in three years for dangerous overtaking of cyclists.
Provisional figures from An Garda Síochána provided to the newspaper suggested that just 14 fixed charge notices have been issued for the offence so far in 2022, with 32 issued in 2019 and 2020 and 25 last year.
Phil Skelton from Safe Cycling Ireland said the “year-by-year drop” in the number of fines issued was disappointing and “we have certainly not seen any substantial evidence that this road safety issue has alleviated to such a degree as to warrant this decrease”.
If the World Cup was pro cycling...
Cycling did it first. pic.twitter.com/o72ZhZBeNy
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) December 18, 2022
After a month of scouring Procyclingstats for tenuous links between pro riders past and present and their nations’ World Cup fortunes… we reached the final… and as ever whenever Argentina were involved Eduardo Sepúlveda had to do the heavy lifting…
Is Mathieu van der Poel riding a secret new Canyon Aeroad?
> Is Mathieu van der Poel riding a secret new Canyon Aeroad?
"He could do it twice in my best time": Cycling world in meltdown over Tom Pidcock's Sa Calobra time
Imagine being Ed Laverick and getting that Strava – u-ho you lost your KOM email 🤣
— Steve (@SFeldo) December 19, 2022
The big news this morning is that Tom Pidcock is very good at riding a bike…
> Tom Pidcock smashes Sa Calobra KOM by nearly two minutes
There are whispers that Tom’s time is just 16 seconds off Wiggo’s rumoured, but not uploaded to Strava, time of 22:30 in the winter before he won the Tour…
Anyway, more importantly, here’s what the good people of our Facebook comments have been saying about the young lad from Leeds…
Gareth Thomas knows who he’s blaming for Pidcock’s faster time… “I bet he didn’t get stuck behind four coaches at the pinch point like I did though!!!”
Phil Jones was disappointed to see the WorldTour pro only beat his Sa Calobra best by 30:17… that’s enough for a second ascent and a coffee order.
Debaets Stevie isn’t bitter, but just thinks “if you’ve got talent it’s easy” while Anthony Walstow reckons “I could do it….if I really wanted to, but I’ll let him have it on this occasion.”
Alison Potter: “So that’s around 12mph, I can do that on the flat, my average speed, probably be around 3mph up that!”
Pete Dougan: “He could do it twice in my best time…”
19 December 2022, 09:15
19 December 2022, 09:15
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £2.49. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
19 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
Just turn your head Ed. Perhaps you've gone so far to the right turning left is the problem?
If the man can't turn his head to check his blind spot he shouldn't be on the road
Follow the road rules. Why is this even a discussion? Because the road rules are not adequately policed. …Solution: how about £100 fines for everyone flouting the road rules / risking cyclists lives on social media and in council chambers, as well as on the roads? That should stop this ongoing waste of time.
@Rendel Harris you've painted a rather alluring picture of social harmony there, but unfortunately you've got my name wrong. I'm Jack, not Nigel. However, to return the compliment, I must think of a story for you. I imagine you sat outside a pub, real ale and pipe propped on the adjacent table, in a similar fashion to Nigel Farage at his populist best. You turn to your wife. "You know what dear? I think I've been a bit harsh in my time. I've shunned the politeness and wisdom of others for too long and want to change my ways.* "There there Rendel", says Mrs Harris. "You're not a bad old stick, it's just living in London that's emptied your soul of kindness and compassion. I've found a lovely new place where we can settle down in our later years. It's on a leafy cul de sac, surrounded by friendly neighbours and smiling faces. There's a guy a couple of doors down, a remarkable man. As well as his towering intellect and rapier wit, he's also a keen cyclist, holding severa local KOMs. Don't be perturbed dear - he'll ride with anyone provided they show other road users the kindness and courtesy they deserve." Rendel turned emotionally, voice shaking. "Oh my dear, thank you for this second chance", and with that the rest of the pub goers turned and applauded the couple, throwing garlands of petals in their wake. The end.
As a Councillor, Edward needs to be paying some attention to all that parking obstructing visibility and manoeuvres at the junction, and sorting out those radii.
Ed Hill was chucked out by Reform in 2025, though TBF to him it was about how to run it rather than ideology I think. He is now reportedly closer to Advance UK, which is distinctly more extreme than Reform. I'd call this Alan Amos style attention seeking.
Emily, thank you for such an insightful piece. I’m a man, but I enjoy watching the women’s races, possibly more than the men’s. The racing is so much closer, we rarely know who’s going to win. You painted a wonderful picture of how a true champion is able to ‘rise above’ setbacks and distractions, and focus their energy on the task in hand. ‘All’s fair in live and war -and sport, but always good to hear riders expressing their admiration for their competitors
@Nigel Garage ...and then everyone applauded my courtesy and I waved courteously to all the people who were courteously throwing flowers and cheering and courteously waving flags that said "Nigel is the best!"
The picture from street view clearly shows give way lines from the roads to the green painted cycle/pedestrian lane. The road user should give way (or must...) to the user of the green lane. This would of course apply to any cyclist on the roadway.
If I recall there is a cave or two along the route - perhaps they were sheltering from the heat in one of those having taken it for a Golf bunker?
19 thoughts on ““He could do it twice in my best time”: Cycling world in meltdown over Tom Pidcock’s Sa Calobra time; Incredible on-bike footage of Buenos Aires erupting at winning penalty; Council defends cycling roundabout; Weekend round-up + more on the live blog”
I see that the Kensington &
I see that the Kensington & Chelsea court case, about the cycle lane, has been adjourned until January 13, 2023.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/council-high-street-kensington-cycle-lanes-high-court-b1045797.html
Those mentioning he could do
Those mentioning he could do it twice, he did do it twice. Second time was 31 mins but HR and power shows he was just “coasting” compared to the first time.
Whoa…
Whoa…
When I did it, I set off a
When I did it, I set off a good number of minutes before the rest of the group. Very good psychologically. Took me 1 hour 1 minute having just looked it up – Autumn 2014 when I was about my most fit. Might have had a little rest before the top.
The hardest bit is judging the downhill corners depending on whether there was a bus coming up or not.
Did anyone see that footage
Did anyone see that footage of a woman in Burley being knocked down by a van on a zebra crossing, then immediately knocked down again by a car? It’s been covered on various tabloid sites. You wonder about some people (the drivers, not the pedestrian): you really do…
https://www.dailyecho.co.uk
https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/23198141.video-woman-hit-van-portsmouth-road-crossing-bursledon/
WTF? The car driver didn’t even notice the woman had been knocked down right in front of them and then started to drive over her! And whats with the man who just crosses and walks off after quite clearly seeing the collision?
He doesn’t just cross and
He doesn’t just cross and walks off, he stops as she is knocked down, then walks back so the fiesta can continue, then stops and walks to the fiesta, which you initially think is to stop them but seems to be a case to say now fine to drive off. Then walks back past the injured woman and stops the other side to …. do nothing.
The van-driver had already stopped their journey to voluntarily allow a car to turn right*, so that was their “good deed” and no need to legally stop their journey for a vulnerable road user crossing at a designated area.
*The right turning car doing a massive corner cut as well.
Depressing reading today on
Depressing reading today on the forum with those incidents.
Cycling mikey reckons it’s the last day for submissions due to the 14 day limit for NIPs being messed up by strikes and christmas.
Manged a double ton on the way back from town – 101 passes and top speed of 103 kph. One benefit of radar being you can see if drivers are slowing down.
Pleased to say range rover drivers keep up the standards. Was confused to be overtaken by a black car when I knew a silver one was behind me. Then realised the silver car driver was giving me space but range rover overtook both with oncoming traffic (no rear camera to show this).
Quote:
I did wonder about strikes, however the assumption is that the Police have proved they posted it in enough time that it will be delivered in the “ordinary course of the post”. This is normally taken that it should be recieved within 2 WORKING days of posting. So strikes and Bank Holidays are normally covered in that if the Police have posted it early enough. Of course whether the Police staff who process them are working is another matter.
Not true.
Not true.
as you pointed out, it is working days
bank holidays are not included in working days, ever. So they have to post to ensure service within 14 working days. Pentip, the most common police software, knows about them and won’t allow the issue if beyond the threshold
Gidden (of pepipoo parish) proved that a strike is indeed not the normal course of post, and so you can rebut the presumption of service given under the interpretion act.
There is of course the get out of “reasonably practicable” which allows service beyond 14 days, but the police don’t use it, presumably as it increaes the difficulty if a case is taken to court.
That Austrian cycle lane
That Austrian cycle lane story means nothing to me.
Aaaaah Vienna !
Aaaaah Vienna !
Re. Buenos Aires – There were
Re. Buenos Aires – There were similar scenes in Scotland when Archie Gemmill scored against The Netherlands in 1978.
I live in Paris. It was very
I live in Paris. It was very quiet on Sunday night
RE: Cycling roundabout
RE: Cycling roundabout (before Flintshire gets here) – did someone confuse bikes with cars?
Now that’s a good general principle but really you don’t need anything special for cycling / pedestrian interactions. Unless you’ve designed something incompetently…
It has been designed to accommodate people on foot or in wheelchairs or pushing buggies. Cyclists circulate round it like a ‘normal’ road roundabout so they, too, can get round this junction safely without putting pedestrians in danger— Mike McCusker
Yep – because “cyclists” we need to invent something that no-one else needs * otherwise the dark triad of tour-de-France wannabes, wrong’uns and incompetent riders will put pedestrians in danger. Sounds like cycles = cars to me!
I’m not totally outraged because this whole “cycling” with its own space idea is extremely new to most in the UK – an “unknown unknown” if you will. And because everyone ignores the
standardsguidance we do have for designing this infra no-one knows what to expect.* Yes BicycleDutch has pointed out a couple of examples in NL e.g. this one– mostly as they’re rare and notable because of how stupid they are.
71 close passes, that’s three
71 close passes, that’s three weeks, not three years…
Has the remaining PBU been
Has the remaining PBU been given another holiday?
They popped up over the
They popped up over the weekend, but other than that very brief smell, it’s been good and pleasently fragrant for a while.
An interesting story in The
An interesting story in The Irish Times this weekend showed that over in Ireland motorists had received just 71 fines in three years for dangerous overtaking of cyclists
What? This is supposed to be reprehensible?! Ireland is doing a fairly good job. In Lancashire, my FoI request to the police revealed NO penalties beyond possible ‘have a word with’, warning letter or joke driving course. I don’t think anybody has ever been penalised in Lancashire with a fine or points on the licence for close passing a cyclist. Remember that offences like this receive no response at all from the unpleasantly lax and highly forgiving OpSnapLancs, who clearly think this close pass by Sainsbury’s 44 tonner YN67 MVJ was the least I deserved for being on the road. This is a hotspot for similar offences- I have been passed at the same place (left hand bend approaching the top of a blind hill- the b******s overtake and when they encounter fast oncoming traffic they just squeeze the cyclist- with the approval of Lancashire Constabulary) by an equally close Stagecoach double-decker. I have written this before, too many times people may think, that the greatest single factor leading to danger for cyclists is the police