Fabio Jakobsen quickly edits Instagram post to remove sight of broken Specialized; Pidcock’s back on Strava… with a Tour stage minimum heart rate of 47bpm; Mathieu van der Poel relegated for sprint shoulder barge on Biniam Girmay + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Mathieu van der Poel relegated for sprint shoulder barge on Biniam Girmay
The omniscient, omnipotent Tour de France commissaires had their say on yesterday’s sprint stage after hours. And while things weren’t quite as tense as the now-viral meme of a nervous Jasper Philipsen, and inquisitive Tadej Pogačar, checking with VAR, the jury landed on a relegation to the back of the group, a fine and docked points for the Belgian’s lead-out extraordinaire Mathieu van der Poel. Like he’ll care, stage win in tact and his teammate the dominant sprinter at the race.
Anyway, you’ll catch the incident at 30-35 seconds of this…
Jasper Philipsen wins with a bike throw! 🤯
The @AlpecinDCK rider narrowly beat Caleb Ewan on Stage 4 of the Tour de France after an insane lead out from Mathieu Van der Poel 💪
_________
🇫🇷 #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/0BUgLHb4P4— Velon CC (@VelonCC) July 4, 2023
A messy sprint, ironically, seemingly made worse by the fast bends and width of the race track finish, Van der Poel and Philipsen refound each other in the final KM, the Monument-collecting superdomestique’s shoulder telling Girmay he was moving out, rather than asking. The team bus will be 500 Swiss Francs lighter too and Van der Poel has been docked 13 UCI points. Again, like he or the team will care.
Third-placed Phil Bauhaus was also called out, for an obstruction at 1.8km to go, but keeps his result. The German has been penalised 50 green jersey points and whacked with the same fine as Van der Poel. Oh, and 30 seconds on GC which moves him down two places to 168th and 40 minutes behind Adam Yates. Great punishment for a sprinter that.
Pidcock's back on Strava... with a Tour stage minimum heart rate of 47bpm
Guess who’s back? Back again? Great spot by Katie on the heart rate presumably from the neutral roll-out.
Tom Pidcock reached a heart rate of 47 beats per minute during today’s stage. 🤪 pic.twitter.com/p9syrCRsya
— Katie (@medicinexthings) July 4, 2023
Intriguingly, Pidcock may have done some Fabioesque post-upload editing as the heart rate data has disappeared from yesterday’s upload…
We speculated Tom P might make a return during July, check out the other must-follow pros currently smashing it around France…
> Tour de France 2023: The best pros to follow on Strava during the world’s biggest bike race
A forgotten legend: Endura set to rebuild the first ever pedal cycle, ridden in 1839
N+1 eat your heart out…
Scottish cyclewear brand Endura is hoping to revive a “forgotten legend of cycling history” recreating Kirkpatrick Macmillan’s 1839 bicycle first ridden from Dumfriesshire to Glasgow, a journey that will be repeated once the bike is rebuilt in August.
The ambitious project pays homage to Kirkpatrick’s invention, recreating the historic pedal cycle with the utmost authenticity and rideability, Endura says, and it will be brought to life in partnership with Ullapool-based boat builder Tim Loftus.
The team will aim to perfectly capture the essence of Macmillan’s invention while incorporating modern engineering capabilities that allow the bike to be suitable for modern riding. And, once complete, it will be ridden on Thursday 10 August, during the World Championships in Scotland, on Kirkpatrick’s original journey.
“As a proud Scottish brand, we want to remind the cycling world that the foundations of this great sport were laid by a proud Scotsman, Kirkpatrick Macmillan, in Dumfriesshire. Our historic ride will merge the past with the present in a way that encapsulates Endura’s commitment to performance and heritage, while celebrating the spirit of innovation that drives our industry forward,” Noah Bernard, brand director at Endura said.
A closer look at Adam Yates' Colnago V4Rs that propelled him to the first Tour de France stage win of 2023
RideLondon to keep visiting Essex for the next three years
RideLondon’s mass-participation sportive, which sees up to 25,000 amateur riders participate, will continue to be hosted by Essex, the county’s council and event organisers have announced.
The extension of the partnership until 2026 includes the RideLondon Classique UCI Women’s WorldTour race, won by DSM’s Charlotte Kool this year.
“We very much look forward to this event improving even further in the coming years,” the council’s Conservative cabinet member for highways maintenance and sustainable transport, Lee Scott, said.
Cat amongst pigeons territory at the Tour
Typical really. Nip out for half an hour and come back to a mega breakaway including a GC contender and plenty of big names whacking a two-minute advantage into the peloton…
🇫🇷 #TDF2023
There’s a large break of over 35 riders at 1:30 minutes ahead of the field. This lead group is reported to contain @JaiHindley, @EmuBuchmann and @PatricKonrad 💥
The bigger climbs of the day at still to come 👀
— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) July 5, 2023
Jai Hindley, Buchmann, Ciccone, plus a wealth of talent. Somewhat surprisingly Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates have let the aforementioned GC threats go up the road with… Wout van Aert, Tiesj Benoot, Christophe Laporte, Marc Soler and Felix Grosschartner leaving the chase behind… well, a bit understaffed. It’s up to two-and-a-half minutes just in the time I’ve been writing this. Big hours ahead.
The Annemiek van Vleuten show continues — queen of the peloton wins again
“She does it 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧” 🤩
🥇@AvVleuten of @Movistar_Team wins Stage 6 of Giro d’Italia Donne to tighten her grip on the Maglia Rosa. It’s her 101st career win! 🥳#GiroDonne pic.twitter.com/g4Md7kWpVg
— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 5, 2023
A second stage win of the week for Annemiek van Vleuten in Italy today, increasing her lead to over three minutes, in part assisted by yesterday’s winner Antonia Niedermaier leaving the race. Elsewhere on the abandon front, Elisa Longo Borghini did not start today’s stage after her crash yesterday.
“She had a good night and checks performed this morning show no sign of concussion. However, she is still in some considerable pain, and for this reason, with regret, the team believes the right decision is for her not to start today’s stage of the Giro,” her Lidl-Trek team said.
That’s 101 career wins now for Van Vleuten who afterwards suggested it was a case of “attack is the best defence”…
“Everyone was focused on yesterday’s mountain stage, then it’s cool to win on a day that is actually for the sprinters,” she said. “It wasn’t necessarily about saving time today. I want to enjoy the Giro, but I know I also have to stay focused. The attack is the best defence, Johan Cruiyff once said about it.”
Third man to stand trial over violent robbery at home of Mark Cavendish
[Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
A man accused of being part of the gang that violently robbed the home of Mark Cavendish, taking watches and a Louis Vuitton suitcase, during the November 2021 raid will stand trial next year.
Jo Jobson, 26, is in custody and was not present at the hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday, but will be invited to enter his pleas on 13 July, ahead of a five to seven-day trial starting on 26 February 2024.
Tokyo lifts ban on tandem bikes, becomes last Japanese city to permit them
Cyclists in the Japanese capital Tokyo may now ride tandems after the metropolitan government lifted a ban on the bikes. The ban used to be nationwide, but has been lifted across the country, Tokyo the last remaining city to do so.
> British couple target fastest tandem cycle around the world
The Japan News reports cyclists, some visually impaired riders, gathered at Shinjuku Ward in front of the Tokyo government offices to ride tandem bicycles legally for the first time in the city.
FIREWORKS
🇩🇰 Jonas Vingegaard attacks! @TamauPogi can’t respond!
🇩🇰 Jonas Vingegaard attaque ! @TamauPogi n’est plus dans sa roue !#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/4jX6bli1qL
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 5, 2023
Jai Hindley, after his daring breakaway, is still at the head of the race, the defending champion hunting him down over the Marie-Blanque. Felix Gall is somewhere in between but as things stand the Aussie will be in yellow tonight. Pogačar, without teammates, a fair bit further behind.
Jai Hindley wins stage five of the Tour de France, takes yellow as Tadej Pogačar ships time
Well, well, well… who had that on their prediction card at the start of the day?
Jai Hindley slipping in the morning move, building up enough of a lead to drop everyone on the Marie-Blanque and solo home to yellow. Behind, Jonas Vingegaard unleashed a major GC statement, dropping Pogačar on the climb, putting almost a minute into him by the finish.
No bonus seconds for the Dane, however, the other remaining breakaway riders Giulio Ciccone, Felix Gall and Hindley’s teammate Emanuel Buchmann pipping him in the sprint. Nonetheless, I’m sure Jumbo-Visma would have taken a 53-second advantage over their great Slovenian rival if it had been offered at the start of the day. Being 47 seconds behind the Australian would be rather more confusing.
"I was enjoying some bike racing and was improvising"
Reaction time…
Jai Hindley: “I was enjoying some bike racing and was improvising. I was happy to be in that group. It’s really incredible and I have no words.
“I wanted to get as much time as possible and the stage. I find myself in the yellow jersey so that’s pretty cool. It’s my first Tour de France and I didn’t know what to expect. I wanted to have some form of success. It’s pretty incredible.
“This one’s for them [my family], all the support, all the fans back home!”
Now, from the man second on GC Jonas Vingegaard: “We wanted a rider in the breakaway, we ended up with three, so that’s even better. We didn’t have to pull in the bunch, which was good for us. I felt good and told Sepp to go to the front and start pushing.”
Responding to a question about if he knew Pogačar might be on a bad day, the answer was pretty clear… “No. No. I just look at myself. If I feel good I go. I know Tadej never gives up so it will be a fight all the way to Paris.”
And from the man himself?
“It was not such a difficult day, Jonas went so so fast on the climb. I lost my legs a little bit, I feel good so I hope for the next days.”
"A huge opportunity" – academics in Australia develop new way of recycling carbon fibre waste
> “A huge opportunity” – academics in Australia develop new way of recycling carbon fibre waste
Fabio Jakobsen quickly edits Instagram post to remove sight of broken Specialized
Tough day for Fabio Jakobsen yesterday: a heavy fall left his body grazed and bloodied, kit torn and bike snapped. That’s the info you would have taken from the Soudal-QuickStep fast man’s post-stage social media post…
If however, you were busy with life and didn’t log on to Instagram until a short while later you might have missed the Specialized-snapping spot… as it had soon been edited to conveniently cover the cracks, mention of the broken bike removed from the caption too… (have a flick through the photos to see just how creative some of those camera angles got)…
“Cycling and life is ups and downs, but the most important thing is to keep moving forward, remain confident, stay hard and have faith that your moment will come 💪
Thanks to everyone for your support, and messages they mean a lot to me 🙏”
And while nobody was scared to admit the broken bike at the time, directeur sportif Tom Steels saying it was in three pieces on the race track, you wouldn’t know it from Fabio’s photos.
Pro cycling teams are no strangers to sponsor-friendly social media activity and we get it, they keep the lights on and provide the chain lube, but it only seems fair that in return we get to have a laugh on the live blog… such as when then-world champion Julian Alaphilippe’s doctor prescribed specifically Tacx roller work for his rehabbing rider…
the Doctors specifically said only @tacx rollers and nothing else 🤣
But seriously, super news. 💪💪💪
— Joe (@joehenstridge) May 12, 2022
“I’m sorry, Julian. Your body is not strong enough for Elite or Wahoo just yet. For people with your injuries, I always prescribe Tacx…”
Anyway, ribbing of ‘The Wolfpack’ aside, here’s to a speedy Fabio recovery and that Specialized, Soudal, QuickStep, Safety Jogger Shoes and Apparel, Dyka, Renson, Castelli, Ekopak, Janom, Maes 0.0%, Oakley, Garmin, 6D Sports Nutrition, Shimano, BMW, Meatless Farm, Coca-Cola, Tacx, Sportz88, Bkool, Morgan Blue, Hyperice, Geodynamics, Bruno Denis, Unior bike tools, Val di Fassa, Samsonite, Cermaicspeed, Klein Constantia, Compress Sport, Feedback Sports, QM, K-Edge, Canon, Rocket Espresso Milano, Nordic Coffee House, Roval, PRO, Core, RETÜL, Supacaz, Box Altitude KA, and Danielo-assisted stage win soon.
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Latest Comments
@eburtthebike I'd be genuinely surprised if this didn't fall under the remit of the HSE and they hadn't done an investigation. Imagine if a forklift hit a cyclist on a large industrial site. Having said that, although the HSE are unlikely to give specific advice, the 'staff are encouraged to wear helmets' doesn't sound like the outcome of a competent risk assessment.
@Smoggysteve My JoeBlow II is about 15 years old and still going strong. I'd say you were the exception but then Perce agreed with you. If my cycling son ever decides to permanently 'borrow' mine I would definitely get another Topeak.
@mdavidford It may be private land but, unless it was a staff-only area, it was a way open to the public (even if they have to pay to be there). Road legislation therefore still applies.
@antigee The same applies in the UK to motor vehicle laws, e.g. they apply in supermarket car parks and other areas of public land, so presumably if we did have mandatory helmet laws that extension would also apply.
@eburtthebike I haven't been able to find the survey, not sure it actually existed, but I did find the below from them on Facebook: as you can see, it's not a survey at all as in "What do you think of cycling in Spalding?" but a specific call for any anti-cycling evidence. Additionally Spalding BID seems a very dodgy organisation: it's funded by a significant levy on local businesses - all local businesses, whether they want to be a part of it or not - which business owners have been taken to court for refusal to pay. It was set up after a poll of local businesses, winning by a single vote, but a number of businesses say they weren't informed of the initiative or weren't given a chance to vote, with "antis" somehow not receiving the paperwork etc. They have received £800,000 from this levy thus far plus £224,000 in other grants, having operated since 2024, and they seem to have managed to run a few minor events ("Keep Spalding tidy week" et cetera), organise some hanging baskets around the town centre and run this anti-cyclists campaign.
@mdavidford living in Aus' with mandatory helmet laws and here they do apply on some privately owned land. Concept is called "road related areas" and road rules apply. A road related area is anywhere public can access with a vehicle such as car parks on private land, roads that access sporting facilities and campsites. Not the UK but an interesting approach to how far legislation can be stretched
I recently replaced the two gear cables and two brake cables on my wife's 20 year old bike in about 20 minutes. It takes me all afternoon to bleed the brakes on my bike. While the new bikes are nicer to ride, they are are total PITA to service. That's progress.
I have significant evidence that Spalding feels pretty wanky. It needs to be banned without delay.
@mark1a there must be something new, perhaps featuring in some pictures? I'm thinking of getting an absolute black 4 piston press. But I also wouldn't mind something for using on a single piston, for cleaning and working in lube when servicing that's far quicker, with a squeezey lever. Any suggestions? The frame repair and new front mudguard stays make access difficult with the wedge of the park pp1.2.
@Chris RideFar it can't be worse than volunteering at the bike co-op.
35 thoughts on “Fabio Jakobsen quickly edits Instagram post to remove sight of broken Specialized; Pidcock’s back on Strava… with a Tour stage minimum heart rate of 47bpm; Mathieu van der Poel relegated for sprint shoulder barge on Biniam Girmay + more on the live blog”
I watched the Tour highlights
I watched the Tour highlights last night and have to admit that I was horrified at the “bike is in three pieces” comment. It hadn’t even looked like a truly horrific crash – I’ve certainly seen worse.
On the same programme, there was an interview with Mark Cavendish and he was asked how thing have changed during his career, and he said when he started then good amateur riders might get scouted and tapped to get a professional contract but that almost never happens now, he said.
He said that “it’s all about the numbers” – their BMI, fitness, etc, regardless of whether they’ve raced on a bike before – and said that it was analogous to a basketball team going out and finding someone really tall, signing them up and then teaching them how to play basketball
Makes sense really. Bike
Makes sense really. Bike handling in the Tdf is exceptional but that can be taught. Tactics can be taught. Being a genetic freak cannot.
Exceptional? I’m not sure
Exceptional? I’m not sure about that……far too many crashes down to poor skills….You can be a successful road rider despite being poor technically.
If you want to watch skilled bike riders, watch MTB racing – they’re on another planet skills wise.
I’m sure there are also
I’m sure there are also examples of rowers also being rectruited from other sports (with zero rowing experience) based on their physical attributes rather than their past performance. There is obviously a lot more to cycle racing than just being super fit, but you can’t teach good genetics whilst you can teach/coach the rest of the skills needed to be the best.
I think that effects the
I think that effects the appeal of the sport for some. If you look at football it’s fairly safe to say the last decade has been dominated by who is better – Messi or Ronaldo and their physical attributes couldn’t be any more different for a pro. One is tall, lean and the extremely athletic looking. The other much shorter but so balanced and graceful they make the game look effortless.
The only thing that keeps cycling mildly appealing is the physical differences between Cavendish vs Pogacar vs Van Aert. But they don’t race the same race. They are all pushing in separate events in the same spectacle. It’s not an even playing field but that’s not their individual goal. A lot of non cycling fans can’t grasp that you’re essentially setting off a marathon, a steeple chase and a 100m sprint off all at the same time.
Going off topic a bit, I
Going off topic a bit, I think rugby is an interesting sport in this respect. It used to have a position for people of every build/physical attributes. Short and fat; hooker; big and tall, back row; short and nimble, half back; speed merchant, wing. But now they are all tall and massively built. Not only does it reduce the appeal, but it is also increasing the level of injuries because no-one is designed to be hit over and over again by that amount of muscle.
Rugby has also particular
Rugby has also particular issues, which it is in total denial of, regarding the *ahem* assistance in maintaining those physiques……
Thank god that sort of thing
Thank god that sort of thing has never been an issue in cycling
A while back I was in
A while back I was in conversation with another fella. We both played rugby years ago and both at hooker. We are both 5’6″ and agreed that today we wouldn’t get a look in with that position. In fact we would probably be excluded from any position due to the desire that teams wanted people built like houses. So much for rugby being for all sizes. In fact hooker now seems pretty much redundant in the front row and as a result we are seeing more trys being scored from that position. 40 years ago that was a rarity un less you fell on the ball during a maul.
BC have been doing this for
BC have been doing this for over 20 years it’s how Jo Rowsell and Lizzie Deignan were talent spotted at school.
As for the Ronaldo v Messi, not a comparison I’d have chosen to make for sure.
The football comparison was
The football comparison was more for showing physical attributes are not as important over God given talent. The players are all playing the same version of the same sport and compete directly. Whereas in cycling there are lots of sub categories all in the same peloton but not competing for the same prizes. Mark Cavendish isn’t a threat to Pogacar and Vice Versa. They are in it for a different reason and their physical attributes differ accordingly. Cav is never going to outclimb Pog and In turn he will never beat Cav in a sprint.
even ignoring how Messi
even ignoring how Messi gained some of his physical attributes, you are comparing two footballers who are both considered forwards vs two cyclists who have completely different roles which means their physical attributes will always be different.
in football parlance its a wingback vs a central midfielder. for instance Remco Evenepoel, GT winner, played as a defensive midfielder/left back but actually started as a goalkeeper.
Awavey wrote:
My daughter goes to that (Jo’s) school (and my wife did as well).
Wow, that’s amazing !
Wow, that’s amazing !
Pidcock had 47bpm during the
Pidcock had 47bpm during the stage? Wow. I got a 47 HR the other day but I had to lie flat on my bed for a while. The struggle is real.
Miller wrote:
Mine is often 47 while sitting at my desk at work. Somehow my “resting” heart rate is 52 though, according to my Fitbit.
Concerns about older drivers
Concerns about older drivers rising, DVLA figures suggest – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-66053510
Hmmm, not sure I see the same
Hmmm, not sure I see the same trend here. A post-covid correction.
2020 was a drop of about 22
2020 was a drop of about 22,000 from 2019, which was more than “recovered” in 2021 + 2022.
The 2023 is about 12,000 for a quarter of the year – continuing that trend takes it to similar levels as 2022, which would suggest an increase (albeit one that is level with the year before)
The massive backlog and
The massive backlog and waiting times (due in part to covid) for cataract procedures is making a fair proportion of this I reckon.
the little onion wrote:
2023 10k in 3 mnths, so heading for 40k
2019 marginally more than 2018
if we take from 2022 to fill in the shortage for “missing” repors in 2020, there is still an upward trend
The history of Kirkpatrick
The history of Kirkpatrick Macmillan’s 1839 bicycle will hopefully be known to some Road CC readers who participate in Cycling UK’s British Cycle Quest, see https://www.cyclinguk.org/british-cycle-quest
Some of the questions are fascinating, others less so but that’s not the point: it’s about exploring parts of the UK you wouldn’t usually visit and simply enjoying being on the bike.
“Antonia Niedermaier leaving
“Antonia Niedermaier leaving the race”
Yes “leaving” the race after face planting hard from hitting a pothole today 🙁 fortunately no bone fractures, but has had to have some dentistry repairs by the sounds of it.
Why were tandem cycles banned
Why were tandem cycles banned in Japan?
BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP wrote:
That sounds like the first line of a joke.
BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP wrote:
Apparently they passed laws against two people on a bike intended to ban handlebar/crossbar/luggage rack lifts and tandems got accidentally caught in the legislation as nobody thought to give them an exemption.
Rendel Harris wrote:
when the law could so easily have been written as “number of riders shall not exceed number of saddles.”
“As a proud scottish brand”,
“As a proud scottish brand”, not proud enough to support scottish independence though.
dreamlx10 wrote:
If all proud Scots supported independence the 2014 referendum would have been a walkover. It is possible to be both a proud Scot and supportive of staying in the UK … I have a couple among my friends, as well as a couple who do support independence.
Jetmans Dad wrote:
I read a book recently which argued that the best thing for the UK might be for London to go off as a separate city state and treat the rest of the UK as independent from it.
The problem with this
The problem with this argument and the arguments for Welsh and Scottish independence is that nobody seems to have a realistic plan for replacing the lost tax revenue?
Wales and Scotland run deficits equivalent to about 15% of GDP, I imagine England – London would also run a significant deficit.
What services do you cut or what taxes do you raise?
Given that an independent London could cut taxes drastically you can’t squeeze the rich too much or they’ll head for Monaco on Thames en masse.
Rich_cb wrote:
Well… how much is too much? How many rich can we afford to lose?
The rich are less constrained in their movements than we wee folk. There are already places to live with less tax / cheaper, with a different but also appealing set of benefits and opportunities. We already changed the “opportunities profile” (Brexit) and there still seem to be rich people keeping us afloat there. We even squeezed (some) of the rich Russians in London quite hard – I’m not sure all of them left.
Us “not rich” (but globally rich) folks will be being squeezed more in the near future too, no doubt!
Rich_cb wrote:
a 10% tax bill increase does not come close to matching the cost increase for living in London, before considering quality of life outside of the city.
brooksby wrote:
People aren’t thinking that through, many of the people that work in London don’t live their, also utiltiies provision across the borders. UK holding London to ransom over exporting their sewage sludge, or drinking water supply.
From all I’ve ever read, the
From all I’ve ever read, the Macmillan Story is a fake.