Fans rip into Jumbo-Visma for Pogačar “on his knees” radio advice that aged terribly; “I should say cars, but actually I think it might be bicycles”: James May answers favourite vehicle question + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
More from May
It’s far from the first time we’ve seen James May pop up on road.cc, back in 2022 we spoke to him about all things bikes…
That came after we’d spotted the presenter’s claims that he is now “well buff” having racked up the miles during lockdown, and wanted then-PM Boris Johnson to “bomb us with bicycles”.
In January, May made the case for 20mph speed limits, saying the limit in urban and residential areas is “plenty fast enough”. Our sister site, e-bike tips, in March, reported on May’s statement that electric bikes “really could change the world”.
We won’t dig out our coverage of a certain former Top Gear colleague of May, otherwise we might be here all day…
Post-stage debrief: Time cut battling; Cav in good spirits; James Shaw takes a minute + loads more
Thought I’d chuck all the post-stage reaction from yesterday into one big round-up for you this morning, starting with the back of the race…
There aren’t enough words to tell you how proud we are of this man 🤗#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/H4EXKnYUYS
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) July 6, 2023
37 minutes after Tadej Pogačar took a bow across the finish line, Fabio Jakobsen and three Soudal-QuickStep teammates joined him in completing the stage. One minute earlier, Mark Cavendish and a trio of Astana helpers did too, the Manx Missile in good spirits at the finish…
💛 @MarkCavendish 🫱🫲 The public#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/z7qTHFlBF1
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 6, 2023
“We were 5 minutes too fast to be honest” 😅
Mark Cavendish was in good spirits after coming in well within the time limit on stage 6 🇮🇲🚀⛰️#TDF2023 #ITVCycling pic.twitter.com/REYzcwSCUV
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 6, 2023
Stage seven should be a sprint into Bourdeaux, is today the day?
Moving up the finish order, fifth-placed James Shaw, riding his first Tour de France having been without a WorldTour contract for two years before joining EF Education-EasyPost, had a simple message for any youngsters watching on… “Never give up, kids, because if you want to achieve your dreams it’s out there”.
“Never give up, kids” 🙌🤩
For a few years he didn’t have a professional contract 👏
Matt caught up with James Shaw after he came an amazing 5th on stage 6 🇬🇧 @JamesthingyShaw @EFprocycling #TDF2023 #ITVCycling pic.twitter.com/xUOKp0uqnz
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 6, 2023
Let’s finish by hearing from the main man himself, including an admission that at one point it felt like everyone could pack their bags and go home…
“When they started pulling on Tourmalet, I was thinking, if this is going to happen like yesterday we can pack our bags and go home” – 🇸🇮 @TamauPogi#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/t7hNtecqKU
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 6, 2023
"I should say cars, I love cars, but actually I think it might be bicycles": James May answers favourite vehicle question
In the month where attention for everything else is competing for the tiny percentage of my brain not overrun with a sporting event across the Channel, things can easily slip through the net… such as this clip from Wednesday night’s One Show with James May as guest…
“A bicycle was the first thing that truly liberated me as a piece of transport”
🛵 What is @MrJamesMay‘s favourite vehicle? 🚚
Thanks for the great question, Daniyah and Inayah 👏#TheOneShow 👉 https://t.co/MkcCY1RvU1 pic.twitter.com/74ZiuM8n73
— BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) July 5, 2023
Favourite vehicle? “That’s a slightly awkward question because obviously I should say it’s cars, I love cars, but actually I think it might be bicycles,” the former Top Gear presenter admitted.
“Only because… no I’m not going to try to justify it… the bicycle was the first thing I had, the bicycle was the first thing that truly liberated me as a means of transport and that’s an incredibly precious thing. Partly because it connects you with childhood and because they are free at the point of use, they almost feel like beating the system for nothing, which doesn’t really happen in physics.
> James May: “I can’t stand road sectarianism – it’s all b*llocks”
“You’re always connected with that joy of A) being young B) being healthy and being given the keys to the world.”
You won’t get any arguments from us, Mr May…
The science behind keeping your bike clean — we visit Gtechniq's lab to see the latest in ceramic bike care tech
No winking at women, no cycling in swimming pools — Crazy cycling laws from around the world
> No winking at women, no cycling in swimming pools — Crazy cycling laws from around the world
The morning after the night before
Tadej 🤜 🤛 Jonas#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/Vp0IzCRrTN
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 7, 2023
Your thoughts on the addition of team radio to Tour de France the broadcast
Who’d be a Tour de France DS? Fans rip into Jumbo-Visma for Pogačar “on his knees” radio advice that aged terriblyhttps://t.co/dAJactAXzt #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/52613RFziy
— road.cc (@roadcc) July 7, 2023
Cheers to dubwise for pointing out it was Laurent Pichon’s wife on the blower mid-stage to tell him she loved him. Makes more sense than the DS but then again the French team does adore a doomed breakaway slog (as evidenced today)…
Hey @SimonGuglielmi 👋😎#TDF2023 @LeTour pic.twitter.com/mDbVZ3bQss
— Team Arkéa Samsic (@Arkea_Samsic) July 7, 2023
Serves me right for muting the comms for 90 per cent of the stage. Sorry commentators, I don’t care how good you are, 21×4 hours is too much for me…
Matthew Acton-Varian: “The Jumbo-Visma radio broadcasts shows just how much can be added to the entertainment side of live races. Less than 1 week into the Tour and we already have a memeable classic.”
Memeable classic. I like that.
Can teams ride prototype bikes in the Tour de France? What are the rules around unreleased cycling tech in pro road racing?
Ryan goes in depth on the Puy de Dôme, the highlight of this weekend's Tour action
Sorry, everyone, just been finishing some touches on a fetaure Ryan has put together on the legendary, brutal, mythical, insert other adjectives here, Puy de Dôme. Well worth five minutes of your time before Sunday…
> Tour de France legends: The iconic Puy de Dôme returns to the Tour after 35 years
SO CLOSE! Mark Cavendish pipped on the line as Jasper Philipsen completes first week hat-trick
Carlton Kirby’s commentary on that was something else… if you listen carefully you can hear the exact moment he realises he’s gone too early…
“Mark Cavendish comes into the frame, HE’S COMING UP ON THE OUTSIDE, I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN, IT’S GOING TO BE 35, oh, is it going to be heartbreak on the line? It is. Oooh goodness me, heartbreak hotel, he’s done his job, Jasper Philipsen says it’s too big to give away…”
Things weren’t quite so premature over on ITV…
SO CLOSE FOR CAVENDISH 😩🥈
Jasper Philipsen takes yet another stage win 🇧🇪🚀#TDF2023 #ITVCycling pic.twitter.com/8pVD8E6oR7
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 7, 2023
Fans rip into Jumbo-Visma for Pogačar "on his knees" radio advice that aged terribly
We were all for the F1-style team/rider radio messages being integrated into the broadcast of this year’s Tour de France, but have got to admit it’s been pretty bland so far. Apart from an unknown individual in Arkéa–Samsic’s team car telling their rider they love him mid-stage, there’s really been nothing you would raise an eyebrow at… until now.
Tour de France images that preceded unfortunate events…
— Katie (@medicinexthings) July 6, 2023
In fairness, did anyone expect Tadej’s stage-winning recovery? Anyway, at least nobody here said he was “on his knees” or anything similarly incriminating in a public forum only to be proved horrendously wrong an hour later. *Panic-striken check of yesterday’s live blog*…
In all its glory…
lmfao pic.twitter.com/jh1UtXCabP
— charlotte cole-hossain 📪 (@charlottebikech) July 6, 2023
Speaking about his team’s plan, Vingegaard admitted: “Tadej was really strong and deserved to win.
“We wanted to try to test him [Pogačar] again today and see how he felt and I suppose he felt better than yesterday. It’s going to be one hell of a battle all the way to Paris.”
The only person broken and on their knees at the end of the first week is your resident live blogger, and he’s not even left his desk… bring on the rest days (sorry, ‘weekend’).
Cycling fans have been as sympathetic and understanding as you might expect in the face of such an embarrassment…
bro is on his knees from laughing at jumbo
— Anna (@HiThere_f1) July 7, 2023
On his knees thanking Jumbo-Visma for the pull.
— JMc (@J_McGrody) July 6, 2023
— Lady Starblade (@ladystarblade) July 6, 2023
Who’d be a sports director, eh?
7 July 2023, 07:58
7 July 2023, 07:58
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Latest Comments
@Paul J Van Schip certainly seems a bit of a dick, but he's a European and multiple World Champion on the track, pretty sure you don't get there without having some talent in your legs.
Poor Vincent cannot get over the simple fact that given the choice people prefer dedicated cycling spaces, rather than pretending to be cars like vehicular cyclists.
What is the point of the fancy air sensor if it can't account for changing weather conditions?? If all you care about is a delayed approximation of aerodynamic watts in steady conditions, you don't need any special sensors for that. Just your speed on a decently flat course is enough to approximate rolling resistance and drivetrain losses. And the rest must be aero. If you assume a less aero body position at the same watts, your speed will drop while rolling resistance also drops, which means approximated aero watts goes up. And that's enough to demonstrate what you've shown in your testing protocol ("I sat upright and the number went up a little while later").
Your correction is accurate - it's almost always been "the (lack of) thought that (doesn't) count". "Massive" - less than a billion a year spent on active travel (trying to catch up / building a network across the entire country) Not massive - 6 billion every year (2026-2030) spent on road *maintenance* of existing "already built, goes everywhere, very convenient" road network for inactive travel Ultimately the reason "cycle infra" is *needed* is those unbelievably colossal amounts spent every year (and for more than a century now) on making mass motoring not just viable but apparently the "best choice" for most journeys. As the Dutch and others have shown, the majority of people *are* prepared to cycle and even mix with very light, slow local motor traffic *if* cycling is also made safe and convenient for the whole of their journey (including secure parking at both ends). (The history of the financial drivers of the current situation are a complex topic but note that while people complain about "crumbling roads" and underfunded motor infra - with some reason - by us continuing the fuel duty escalator freeze (for example) we're actually helping motorists pay *even less* for that activity / subsidising more of the cost of driving than ever.)
yes, but people will still object - which was my point.
So ' Priority of Road Users' and 1.5 metre clearance at 30mph has been been reduced to 'sharing'? NCN route 2 here in South Hams is an absolute scream with white vans, tractors and total idiots who refuse,or are totally incapable,to reverse on high Devon banked lanes ...means you have to get off and pedal back to a passing place....could be at that all day...so I don't bother...
@MaxiMinimalist Agreed. The big problem I see now is today's parents grew up being driven to their schools, and therefore, see private motor vehicles as the only viable form of transport. The vast majority of UK infant and primary schools have a catchment area that is within easy walking distance from home to school. Yet, the traffic caused by pupils being driven to/from school is astonishing. Banishing the "School Run" should be a priority for all schools.
When I was a kid (that was during the previous millenium when phones were connected to a plug in the wall), I rode my bicycle to school, music academy, sport grounds, parties even during the winter. The government didn't have to spend, correct that, didn't have to think of spending massive amounts of money to build cycling specific infrastructures. Over the past 3 or 4 decades, cars have grown bigger, taller, safer (for their drivers) and faster. Meanwhile, motorists have become abusive, aggressive, hypersensitive to people moving on two wheels, aka cyclists. Spending billions upon billions on new infrastructure won't address the crux of the matter. Sadly.
Obree had some actual talent in his legs though, in addition to his bike/aero engineering talent.
Малко като опит за доказване е излязло... Никой няма нужда от толкова голям въртящ момент и мощност на шосеен велосипед с тънки гуми, които дори трудно ще предават тази мощност върху пътя. А ако има и ограничение от 25 км/час е още по-безмислено.
21 thoughts on “Fans rip into Jumbo-Visma for Pogačar “on his knees” radio advice that aged terribly; “I should say cars, but actually I think it might be bicycles”: James May answers favourite vehicle question + more on the live blog”
Quote:
proceeds to justify it quite effectively, although there’s no only in that statement.
The only depressing thing in
The only depressing thing in that clip is the response to him saying he’s done 25 miles today (gasps and “That’s amazing”). We really shouldn’t see that as amazing – it’s perfectly do-able by a normal, healthy, middle-aged person.
We shouldn’t see it as
We shouldn’t see it as amazing, but I only have to think back a couple of years to know I would have seen 25 miles as amazing.
A lot of people wouldn’t consider walking a mile, so I think that if they see a “normal” person doing “amazing” distances, they might be more inclined to think “hey – I could give that a go”
Steve K wrote:
I rarely have time to do any recreational cycling: practically all of my cycling is commuting or going to the shops. My commute is 6-9 miles each way (depending on which route I take). I frequently have someone say to me, “You cycle six miles? But that’s such a long way!”.
So I can understand why ‘civilians’ might think that a twenty five mile ride is incredible.
brooksby wrote:
I agree with both you and HoldingOn – I meant it’s depressing that cycling a few miles is seen as such a feat.
Steve K wrote:
Amen to that.
I must admit, I was surprised
I must admit, I was surprised at just how far you can cycle without requiring a massive amount of fitness (I don’t mean “you” as in specifically you Steve K – I mean the general “you”!)
I think the mass-cycling videos that I enjoy are brilliant because there are so many different types of people out cycling. It starts to show people that you really only need a bike to be able to get out and cycle a few miles. I would estimate if you can slow walk for ten minutes, you will be able to cycle for 30 minutes – but that 30 minutes could take you 5 miles. Even more so with an eBike. (the mass element of it, shows them they wouldn’t be alone)
We just need “normal” people to see that kind of cycling. Make them aware its well within their reach!
HoldingOn wrote:
I was definitely not very fit when I started commuting 11 miles each way to work (admittedly pretty flat miles – hills make much more difference than distance per se). I agree with everything you say, with the proviso of my normal complaint about not being in the videos.
Years ago I would have been
Years ago I would have been in that camp of amazement.
Now, if I just cycle to the train station it’s just under 6 miles. If I use the Brompton to take with me and avoid the underground, it’s another 6+ miles across London to work. So total for the day of 20+ miles. I like to point out to people that this is achievable with a bit of effort. I’m not super fit, I’m still overweight and in my forties.
Steve K wrote:
Some folk are so dependent on their cars that to even walk 1mile is a challenge. My work colleagues considered a 5 mile commute by bike an ultra challenge. I spent forever trying to convince one that the 1mile for him was doable and it wouldn’t turn him into a sweaty mess and the only reason I wore lycra was because I took a twenty mile plus loop home. The same individual bemoaned the fact he was overweight and had a gym membership that he never used because he was always too tired. Tried to explain that the exercise would sort out the tiredness. He’s still driving and has now bought a wankpantzer. ?
I used to work with someone
I used to work with someone who drove 2.5miles to work everyday, and then had a gym membership, the gym was only a mile from their house and they also drove to that too, and theyd ride a static exercise bike to keep fit.
they werent the only one I just gave up trying to convince people that a 1mile bike ride wont make you so hot and sweaty that you need a shower afterwards, and it only takes minutes and you could wear normal clothes if you needed etc etc, because there was always another excuse they had that meant they couldnt possibly consider it a valid option
The Jumbo-Visma radio
The Jumbo-Visma radio broadcasts shows just how much can be added to the entertainment side of live races. Less than 1 week into the Tour and we already have a memeable classic.
Move over Kimi Raikkonen (“Leave me alone, I know what I am doing”/you will not have the drink), there’s a new radio message in town.
“Apart from an unknown
“Apart from an unknown individual in Arkéa–Samsic’s team car telling their rider they love him mid-stage”
That was Pichon’s wife, as stated in commentary. The Arkéa phoned her and got her to talk to him.
Brilliant! You’ll forgive us
Brilliant! You’ll forgive us for sticking the sound off for most of the day, three weeks is a long time to listen!
But isn’t it all about having
But isn’t it all about having it on in the background?
Remember all that fuss a few
Remember all that fuss a few weeks ago about a new cycle lane which people kept tripping over?
Well, now They’re ‘aving a go at the blind!
Perhaps if they paid
Perhaps if they paid attention to their surroundings, and not their phones, I doubt it weould be a problem.
brooksby wrote:
Is it really that difficult to have a raised kerb that is easily visible?
On the one hand, I want people to look where they are going most of the time, but on the other hand, we shouldn’t be putting trip hazards around the place. On balance though, I think we should err on the side of trip hazards if only to wake up the phone zombies.
I can never read any articles
I can never read any articles on E-Bike Tips – it says “unable to handle”.
Anybody else?
mattw wrote:
You misunderstand the message sir. It’s the AI department of Road.cc who have decided, in their synthetic wisdom, that you are unable to handle an e-bike. You might think it a compliment.
Keep seeing wankpanzers or as
Keep seeing wankpanzers or as I now shout at them ‘child killing vehicles’.
I reckon I saw fewer off road capable vehicles in northumberland last month than I see in Essex. But hey everyone needs a Q7 or sports range rover.