Jumbo-Visma rider praised for “true sportsmanship”, checked on injured Tao Geoghegan Hart after Giro-ending crash; G shows off super glamorous pro cycling hotels… hideously grim toilets and all; Man City vs… Lance Armstrong?! + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
G shows off super glamorous pro cycling hotels... hideously grim toilets and all
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Picture the scene. After a traumatic Giro stage you get to your hotel, ready to put your feet up to try to recover ahead of the next day. You take a look around, nip to the toilet when this meets your eye…
Nice hotel tonight. After a crazy race so far, at least we get to stay in 5* luxury 🤣🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/AfyzD7SI4r
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) May 17, 2023
You can’t say we didn’t warn you…
Tao Geoghegan Hart fractured hip confirmed, will undergo surgery
Following the stage, the Ineos Grenadiers confirmed that Geoghegan Hart was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Genoa, where it was revealed that he had suffered a fractured left hip, which will require surgery.
Man City vs... Lance Armstrong?!
Ah Twitter, what a weird and sometimes wonderful place…
Lance Armstrong is trending this morning because of Manchester City’s Champions League semi-final destruction of Real Madrid… and a certain 100+ Premier League charges over alleged (let’s make that word very clear) breaking of financial fair play rules…
City are brilliant but then so was Lance Armstrong…
— Andythered83 (@AndyGni) May 17, 2023
All the Football writers fawning over City remind me of the journalists that fawned over Lance Armstrong.
— Phil Shaw (@prsgame) May 17, 2023
Anyway, back to cycling…
"I was so motivated; the boys rode incredible for me": Cav gets closer to first Astana win
Eighth, fourth, third… Cav’s getting closer to that Giro stage win. The bad news, however, is there might not be many more opportunities — there are probably only two more nailed-on sprint days… and one of them’s next weekend in Rome and the other side of a brutal third week.
Speaking after the stage Cav said he was “so proud” of his teammates’ efforts…
“We were really motivated for today’s stage,” he explained. “It was a nice sprint on paper, but it wasn’t easy to arrive there… The way we built as a team this Giro we knew if we work together, we get there. Vadim rode the whole day on the front, making an incredible tempo and making sure the break never got too far. And the boys looked after me in the final.
“There was a small kick when another team attacked to try to drop us, but the boys stayed with me. We were just off the pack, but we came back, we stayed together, we straight to the front and set up for the sprint. I was so motivated; the boys rode incredible for me, and I am so proud of them, and I am just sorry I couldn’t finish it off.
“I couldn’t change anything else about the sprint. In terms of how the sprint went and how I rode it I just got beaten by, actually, two incredible young riders, Pascal Ackermann and Jonathan Milan. It’s not bad boys to be beaten by. So, my congratulations to Pascal.”
The road.cc road rash club
Missed yesterday’s live blog? It was a road rash special…
> Astana pro shows off some of the worst road rash we’ve seen
Here’s editor Jack’s contribution to the collection… a fall on the Gavia will do that to you…
I’d share the red raw rash snap sitting in my phone’s photos since autumn 2019, but I’ll save you all a photo of my arse… perhaps after lunch…
Cyclist goes viral for shouting at white supremacists
from the ashes, a hero rises pic.twitter.com/EK9FdOXiHO
— abby (@abby4thepeople) May 14, 2023
This bike-riding heckler stole the show at a Patriot Front march in Washington DC. Author and photographer Joe Flood was seen interrupting the white supremacist group’s speech on Saturday, with such hard-hitting insults as… “Your mum [we refuse to write mom] hates you”… “Your friends hate you”… “You’re sloppy”…
“This guy was giving this speech,” Mr Flood told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow show. “He kept having to stop and pull it out of his pocket and then start reading it. So, every time he stopped, I would yell at him and say he was boring. And then I said, ‘Why can’t you memorise your speech? Why can’t you memorise your speech?’.
“And then I said, ‘You look like Gen Custer’s illegitimate son’. The guy side-eyed and looked at me, and I thought, I got you. I got in your head. Now get out of my town.”
New climate safe streets boroughs report — London Cycling Campaign publishes report naming boroughs doing best and worst on decarbonising roads
The London Cycling Campaign has published its annual Climate Safe Streets Boroughs report, analysing the “gulf between boroughs on active travel and car use reduction scheme delivery”.
The headlines:
- Hackney tops the list, with Camden, Waltham Forest and Lambeth close behind on delivery in “current term and mode shift away from private motor vehicles prior to pandemic”.
- Tower Hamlets is the “only London borough that has seen mode shift towards private motor vehicles prior to the pandemic”. Bromley, Hillingdon and Bexley also sit at the bottom of the delivery league table.
- “The Mayor of London is broadly on track for his ‘Vision Zero’ commitment to eliminate serious and fatal road collisions on London’s streets by 2041 (based on his trajectory pre-pandemic) but behind on delivering his ‘Net Zero’ climate commitment as it relates to roads transport. To achieve it, he’ll need to reduce car use more than seen during 2020 – the year of heaviest Covid lockdowns”.
Big ol' breakaway day at the Giro
So, who’s in the break on stage 12? Or maybe the question is who isn’t in the breakaway?
Mads Pedersen, Michael Matthews, Alberto Bettiol, Patrick Konrad, Sepp Kuss, Bauke Mollema, Davide Formolo… they’re all there, with Stephen Williams flying the flag for the Brits. 26 riders in total, with four chasing on. If it becomes 30 that’ll be 22 per cent of the riders left at this Covid and crash-depleted Giro…
A third of Soudal Quick-Step’s riders are there (yes, just one of the three), but more impressive is Trek’s four out of seven.
Before the start there was a minute’s silence for the victims of the floods that hit Emilia Romagna this week…
Before the start of the race, a minute of silence was observed in memory of the victims of the floods that hit Emilia Romagna in recent days.
.
Il Giro d’Italia ha voluto ricordare con un minuto di raccoglimento le vittime dell’alluvione che ha colpito nei giorni scorsi l’Emilia… pic.twitter.com/EKtjo7plye— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 18, 2023
> The Giro just avoids Italy’s deadly floods – but cycling is now feeling impact of climate change
CPA union president Adam Hansen goes IN on Spanish fan's opinion piece criticising bad weather stage alterations in the name of rider safety
Jorge Matesanz began his “brief opinion of a cycling fan” by stating “I don’t know if Adam Hansen will read this”… boy did he read (and reply) to it…
[Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
In the piece Matesanz suggested the sponsors and fans deserve full-length stages as planned months in advance, hinting at the discussions to shorten the miserable stage 10 of Tuesday, as well as the snow-caused alteration to tomorrow’s.
“In short, cycling should aim to be more attractive, more spectacular,” he wrote. “To attract more viewers, a larger audience, to move more and not less. To cause more admiration. Or at least realise that the opinion of those on the other side, consumers after all, also has its importance and should have its weight. In most sectors, the opinion of customers (which is what we are after all) matters and is taken into account.
“In cycling? Only very occasionally. And many of us are getting more and more tired of the fact that little by little we are evolving towards a bubble cycling where nothing happens, where everything is tailored to the comfort of some [the riders] who seem to not like cycling. And when a sport fits the tastes and needs of someone who doesn’t like that sport, bad business.”
Did Hansen reply? He didn’t just reply, he penned the single longest tweet I’ve ever seen…(all 461 words of it)…
Thanks for the story. I will say this very nicely. My job is to represent the riders, not convince them, change their options, and definitely not side with the organisers, UCI, or fans. I’m not here to make friends with organisers, UCI, teams, or even fans.
It is not my voice.… https://t.co/XVCVTDCSKv
— Adam Hansen (@HansenAdam) May 18, 2023
The conclusion? “I care,” Hansen said. “If you, organisers, sponsors, UCI, or fans rather risk a human’s health for your own entertainment, then it proves the point that they need someone on their side, like me.”
The other 429 words are worth a read too, if you’ve got some office time to kill, but that’s the TL;DR edition.
Want to catch all the unmissable action from the Giro d'Italia? Watch live racing on demand with GCN+
Wheels testing Pt.2 — Carbon deeps vs classic aluminium
Nico Denz wins stage 12 of the Giro
The breakaway within the breakaway took the day, a small group leaving the rest behind and, after a further reduction on the final climb, deciding the stage with a three-up sprint — Nico Denz winning, Toms Skujinš second and Seb Berwick third. The German, following on from compatriot Pascal Ackermann’s win yesterday, seemed understandably pretty pleased with the victory…
🇮🇹 #Giro
Pure joy! 🤩
Amazing ride, @NicoDenz 🎉👊🏼👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/sdiXSXx0US
— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) May 18, 2023
"Vertical bike storage is discriminatory and should be outright banned": Rail engineer Gareth Dennis explains why taking your bike on the train is such a faff on the road.cc Podcast
Jumbo-Visma rider praised for "true sportsmanship", checked on injured Tao Geoghegan Hart after Giro-ending crash
Amidst the chaos of yesterday’s stage 11 crash, Koen Bouwman of Jumbo-Visma has received plaudits for his sporting actions, checking on a rival team’s GC rider as he lay injured in the road.
At the time, Tao Geoghegan Hart sat third on GC, five seconds behind Geraint Thomas and just three seconds behind Bouwman’s teammate and team leader Primož Roglič. However, having given Roglič his bike, the Dutchman had a minute to breathe while his team caught up to replace his bike, taking a moment to check on Geoghegan Hart…
“I asked if there was anything I could do,” Bouwman explained after the finish. “He quickly said it was over for him.”
Plenty of love for Koen’s kindness…
We really appreciate it @koenbouwman. Thank you 🤝
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) May 17, 2023
Koen ❤️
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 17, 2023
True sportsmanship 👌Well done
— marion (@alternatiefje) May 17, 2023
Fair play to you fella, proper sportsmanship.
Chapeau— thibault pompidou (@bigbadrab36) May 17, 2023
18 May 2023, 08:02
18 May 2023, 08:02
18 May 2023, 08:02
In case you get lost on your next road ride...
Mountain bike slang - a beginner’s guide to speaking proper MTB
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Latest Comments
@Nigel Garage Then sanity returned and he said, "Hang on, are you suggesting that we leave our beautiful Victorian flat in the middle of the greatest city on earth to go and live in some nasty Barratt Homes newbuild in a place so boring that for entertainment the residents constantly troll websites from which they've been banned a dozen times, with a creepy accountant who cyberstalks people's Facebook photos to get material to use for his silly posts on said websites for a neighbour?" "Yes, on second thoughts let's stay here," she said, and they lived very happily ever after.
If drivers find it too hard to give way then maybe it should be a stop sign. That will give them enough time to look.
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!"
14 thoughts on “Jumbo-Visma rider praised for “true sportsmanship”, checked on injured Tao Geoghegan Hart after Giro-ending crash; G shows off super glamorous pro cycling hotels… hideously grim toilets and all; Man City vs… Lance Armstrong?! + more on the live blog”
best wishes to Tao and hope
best wishes to Tao and hope he has a full and quick recovery.
spotted in Regents Park
spotted in Regents Park yesterday – the pothole marking team have been out, we’re hoping the filler team follows on soon – other potholes only had ordinary rings around them…
How opponents of LTNs are
How opponents of LTNs are adopting the climate-sceptic playbook (Grunaiad)
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/18/how-opponents-of-ltn-are-adopting-the-climate-sceptic-playbook
brooksby wrote:
They missed out the often over-looked issue of noise pollution. I’m becoming more aware of it as Mrs HawkinsPeter suffers from some noise anxiety and will often choose side roads to walk along rather than main roads simply because the traffic is so loud. It’s also remarkable how many young people are almost constantly wearing headphones/earbuds and I wonder how much of that is a way of coping with intrusive noises.
The sounds of the city
The sounds of the city (Amsterdam in this case)… Cities aren’t loud, motor vehicles are loud. (Well… louder than they might be, cities have always been loud for some). Maybe one reason why motor scooters aren’t loved by many there.
chrisonatrike wrote:
The noise issue became far more obvious when during lockdown, the sound of bird-song could be heard once again.
Of course, cities are always
Of course, cities are always going to be more irritating to the ear than the countryside.
Yes, and in the wake of the
Yes, and in the wake of the pandemic of the old and unfit, they missed out on the even bigger issue of public health. Being fit cut the risks of death from Covid-19 about in half, and there were indications it was dose-related. Not many many pro cyclists died after catching the bug. Does anyone remember the number? Going forward, anything done to get people out of their motor vehicles and moving can be considered a move to reduce the death toll in the next pandemic. Not to mention the protections against the other big and long-ago normalized killers like heart disease. diabetes, etc.
cmedred wrote:
Considering pro cyclists were in the age range of 20-35 this would not be unexpected. Can you back this up with percentages compared to their age group.
What might be more enlightening would be the number of club cyclists in their 50s succumbing compared to the general population of 50-60 year olds.
After all, most of us could not become pro cyclists, but the vast majority would benefit from taking up regular exercise.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Having spent a large part of last weekend up a ladder, doing house maintenance, it was nice to be outside in the sunshine at last.
Well, it would have been, if it hadn’t been for the almost constant stream of ridiculously loud cars and motorcycles whose sole aim in life seems to be the disturbance of other people’s lives.
Contrast this to the motorbike which passed me whilst I was waiting for the bus, on Monday – I wanted to stop the rider and thank him for riding a vehicle that I saw before I could hear it – even when he was at his closest, the engine noise was merely a nice, refined, hum.
This proved my theory that it is totally unnecessary for vehicle to have such loud noise profiles, and it’s mostly down to macho posturing and lack of consideration.
Bring on the quiet of electric vehicles…
Many years ago I went with a
Many years ago I went with a friend to collect a Ducati 916 Carl Fogarty replica. The bike was on an open set of Termignoni exhausts and sounded like the opening of the gates of hell. As we were about to leave, the previous owner’s next door neighbour came out to wish the bike a fond good bye. It turned out that he was almost completely deaf and the bike was one of the few things he could clearly hear.
Disclaimer – This story is for the purposes of boring the reader not to advocate for loud motorcycle exhausts.
Agree, people only look at
Agree, people only look at the air pollution aspect of cars (so they think electric cars are the answer to all our prayers) but there is noise, space, damage caused by accidents and even just generally wear and tear to the infrastructure ignored.
Without wishing to start
Without wishing to start another endless debate on earphones while cycling, one worth remembering for anyone planning on riding in Spain, €200 fine for using them: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/tourists-in-spain-now-face-e200-fines-for-cycling-with-earphones/
I suggest Jorge Matesanz
I suggest Jorge Matesanz develop an interest in CX. Go to a world cup round and get to see the likes of WvA, MvdP, Tom P, Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse slug it out 7 or 8 times in the course of a race and at a pace where you can actually see them within touching distance (not that I would recommend that!). Plus if it’s in Belgium/Netherlands drink beer and eat chips with mayonnaise while doing so. What’s not to like?