“Nothing Spesh about it”: Specialized gets ripped for sharing pic of Tesla Cybertruck unable to fit a bike in the back; Dirty dancing with Primož Roglič; Why cyclists ride in the middle of the road + more on the live blog

Team DSM has had its second renaming in a single year, thanks to PostNL, a mail, parcel and e-commerce corporation joining the team as its co-title sponsor. New sponsor, you know what that means? New jersey!

I definitely won’t mind some new threads in the peloton, and given the recent sea of blue kits we had been seeing since the Tour de France this year, the team with one of the blue-est kits changing theirs should surely come as a welcome change? 

Or maybe not, as it looks like the new kit, now on a white base with a lighter shade of blue ornamenting the torso… and then some orange stripes.

DSM-Firmenich become DSM-Firmenich-PostNL with a quite hideous jersey.

White and blue with orange stripes is…. a look… But is it a good one? The riders don’t seen sure in this still https://t.co/4cbotitZOC

— Tim Bonville-Ginn (@TimBonvilleGinn) November 16, 2023

I don’t know about everyone else, but would it be too controversial at this point to say that I like it better than their previous dull, very, very deep navy blue jersey? Makes it easier to spot in the peloton and I would rarely ever say no to more colours on a kit!

Well that’s one way to announce your goals…

Roglic anunciou seus objetivos em 2024

🇧🇪 Liege Bastogne Liege
🇨🇭 Tour da Suíça
🇫🇷 Tour de France
🇫🇷 Paris 2024 (estrada, nada sobre o crono ainda)
🇨🇭 Mundial (também estrada, nada sobre o crono) pic.twitter.com/tXwjDJeBDk

— O País Do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo) November 16, 2023

“Did you know Primož Roglič used to be a ski jumper?” Yeah I know, and that probably explains the meticulous acrobatic posture? I wonder who’d come out on top between a Jonas and a Primož dance-off though…

Just going to leave this here. Make of it what you will…

The t*z bookmark in my browser pic.twitter.com/g5n1zwLpt8

— #SiempreGino (@NairoInGreen) November 15, 2023

Why do cyclists ride “in the middle of the road” reason 482: rubbish road surfaces (ps cyclists report potholes for repair which helps motorists from vehicle damage). pic.twitter.com/5o3gaEBgxu

— Rory McCarron (@CyclingLawLDN) November 15, 2023

“Changing media landscape” and all, the shutting down of GCN+ and its app is sure to come as a blow, even if it was foreshadowed and in the waiting for months, for many cycling fans. It wasn’t just the livestreaming element, the relationship you develop with the presenters and commentators is something that is going to be missed, and that’s not even taking into account all the other videos that used to be available on the platform about the history of the sport.

This column from Steve Thomas on road.cc is well worth a read if you have been trying to cope with the service’s demise. Media consolidation, bloody hell.

> The rise & fall of GCN+ – is the livestream party over for cycling fans?

Road cyclists at the twilight of their career switching to gravel is nothing new, but Specialized, already dominating today’s road.cc live blog, is looking to build a team around the Italian from Pergine Valsugana, reports Gazzetta.

Daniel Oss at 2023 Tour de France (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Oss said: “Around me, Specialized will build its first team for Gravel by 2024. The intention for me is to do a high level activity, earn the blue for the European and World Championships, have fun while being highly competitive.”

“Not out of the blue, but it was an evolution over time. I’ve always been a bit ‘alternative’. Now road cycling is looking for the ‘new’, it looks more at young people, and I thought ‘now either I go to a very high level team, or I dedicate myself to something else’. Gravel is a perfect opportunity, Specialized is aiming for it and I still want to be an athlete to one hundred percent of my potential, to achieve results. I’m mega-charged, for me it’s a relaunch.”

“For ordinary people: it’s a world where you feel freer. Both to be yourself, without chasing performance at all costs, and to go outside the normal paths and therefore this means more safety. It makes you feel better, out of traffic, and off conventional routes. Then, the tourist aspect, because it adapts well to the idea of ​​traveling and discovering territories.”

Cycling season is dead, long live the cycling season!

While earlier today, Roglič’s main goals for 2024 were announced, accompanied by a video of him showing off some killer acrobatic dance moves, his former teammates Vingegaard and Wout van Aert also seem to slowly announce their targets.

Nowhere near as ambitious as Roglič, who will be aiming for the April monument at Liège–Bastogne–Liège (Roglič back for one-day races, yay!) and the Tour de Suisse, before going all guns blazing to challenge Pogačar and Vingegaard for the yellow jersey at the Tour de France. Other targets on his calendar also include the road race at the Paris Olympics and the UCI Worlds road race.

Meanwhile, Dutch rider Van Aert, who had a sort of a mixed season last year, has said that his main goal for 2024 will be the Giro, reports  . Finally, finally! Van Aert GC campaign? Sign me up!

Vingegaard riding the Tour de France and looking to win it for a third consecutive year shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the Danish rider has said that the Olympics could be a bit dodgy for him. Despite having himself made available for the national team, he’s not sure if he’ll get picked. On the other hand though, Vingegaard is eyeing up the UCI Worlds road championship in Switzerland. Vingegaard for a pure ciclisimo event?! I’ll see if anyone still comments “Jonas hates cycling”! 

Campaigners have placed 1,000 missing bike posters around London as new analysis reveals demand for secure storage has increased by a fifth – but some local authorities still show no signs of installing hangars.

Cycling campaigners and victims of bike theft in London – where around 50 bikes a day are reported stolen – have put 1,000 missing bike posters, known as ‘lamppost laments’, across the capital as part of a call for the installation of more cycle hangars, as recent analysis reveals that the demand for secure bike storage has risen by almost a fifth over the past 18 months.

> “So many people are put off cycling by the threat of having their bike stolen”: Bike theft victims call for more secure cycle hangars as demand soars

23-year-old Spanish road cyclist Josu Etxeberria, who rides for team Caja Rural, was on a training ride in Iza, Navarre, when he was run over by a driver, reports Spanish news agency EFE.

He was transferred to a hospital via a helicopter, and his team has now confirmed that the young rider, who featured at the classic San Sebastian and then at the Vuelta a Burgos earlier this year, is now in intensive care.

The team’s statement read: “The Navarrese has multiple injuries and is in the ICU of the Navarra Hospital. He is conscious and moves his limbs.”

Etxeberria turned professional with the Caja Rural team in 2021, after previously riding for their development teams. He had also previously fractured six vertebrae after a crash at the Ronde de l’Oise in 2022. 

Could the widespread implementation of 20mph speed limits across the UK spell the end of Britain’s long and venerable history of time trialling? On episode 65 of the road.cc Podcast, we turn our attentions to Cycling Time Trial’s recent refusal to sanction courses that feature 20mph zones, and the serious impact this could have on clubs and the time trialling scene in general.

Meanwhile, later in the episode, we delve into a mystery that has baffled cycling fans for centuries (or at least the last three years)… What is going on with Chris Froome’s bike? Ryan sits down with professional bike fitter Luke Craddock, the owner and director of Synergy Performance, and tries to decipher the mystery.

> Why the 20mph zone time trial ban could be the “tip of the iceberg” for British racing + Chris Froome’s bike set-up mystery explained

Is it finally time to do the right thing for America’s roads?

A rule which thankfully doesn’t exist in the UK, drivers in North America can turn right even on a red light, leaving both cyclists and pedestrians vulnerable. Montreal, fast-becoming many cyclists’ favourite destination, is one of the few cities in the continent to take charge and scrap this rule.

Now it seems that traffic advocates in other cities have taken notice, and are eyeing to implement to rule change, reports Canadian Cycling Magazine. 

> “It exists, and it’s beautiful!”: Cyclists rave about Montreal’s “incredible” cycling network

The director of road safety and safe mobility programs at the injury prevention group Parachute, Valerie Smith said in an interview with Global News that the change would be beneficial to vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

She said: “When I consider the potential opportunities for collisions, for serious injuries resulting from those collisions or deaths, I think that it really makes sense to strongly consider a ban on right turns on red.”

Currently, Montreal is the only large city in North America that bans right turns on red lights. It used to be that the entire province prohibited it, but that rule changed in 2003, making the Island of Montreal the only place left where it was disallowed.

> Montreal’s “incredible” cycling network makes it to CNN as its Mayor calls on other cities to “do the right thing”

In New York City, there are some places that ban it as well. The city of Toronto has also considered such a ban several times as well. In 2020, city councillor Mike Layton floated the idea to, “proactively use right-turns-on-red prohibitions to make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

Advocates for road safety, including the pedestrian advocacy group Pietons Québec, said that permitting right turns on red lights contributes to fatalities. However, people have noted that numerous drivers neglect the stipulated rule of coming to a complete stop before executing the turn, and they highlight the heightened risks posed by larger vehicles like SUVs to pedestrians.

“While we believe it makes sense to implement the no-right-turn-on-red ban, and we know that it’s going to protect the vulnerable road user, we want data to support that,” Smith said. “Does that blanket ban make sense from a vulnerable road user perspective? I would say yes. But for a city planner who’s trying to meet the needs of a variety of constituents, it’s going to be a little bit more challenging.”

A cyclist who complained to the police after he was mistakenly pulled over by an officer for “using a mobile phone” while riding on the road – when, in fact, the cyclist was attempting to save footage of a close pass from a lorry driver on his bike camera – was later told that, while there is no specific offence for using an electronic device while riding a bike, his actions could still be deemed “careless and inconsiderate”.

During the incident, after stopping the cyclist the officer erroneously argued that it was illegal to use a phone or electronic device while cycling, telling the rider to “look it up”, said that he would have received a ticket – or been arrested or charged – had she not been on her own, and advised him that not wearing a helmet or hi-vis clothing could lead to him getting “killed or smushed”.

Read more: > Cyclist mistakenly pulled over by police and threatened with ticket for “using phone” – and then gets lectured by officer for not wearing helmet or hi-vis

If you missed out on yesterday’s blog about Elon Musk’s latest vanity endeavour not really going anywhere (some may say downhill…), the bulletproof, refrigerator-like pickup truck with no crumple zones whatsoever, the Tesla Cybertruck was catching strays from left and right for not being able to fit a Specialized mountain bike in its cargo bed.

Judging from the many tongue-in-cheek and quite hilarious comments about the truck’s ability to hold just half a bike, give or take, you’d expect brands, especially bicycle brands to stray away from sharing the same picture with the “two eyes” (👀) emoji?

Apparently not Specialized.

Ensue a string of more hilarious comments, and a little Tesla/Spesh bashing too.

“Silliest ‘truck’ ever. Great bike.” said one user on Facebook, while another commented, “Bed looks as small as my Tacoma”. Others meanwhile, pointed out that this was a bad look for Specialized, and that “your bike doesn’t even fit in the back of the KrappenPanzer”.

What’s the way around? Some Elon fanboys could tell you that they always preferred shorter frame sizes anyway… “I’m 6’5, but you know, kinda a S frame guy.”

Some still noted the deficiencies of the Cybertruck, saying that “this is what you get when you ask someone to design a truck who has never driven a truck before, and one person was quick to point out on the social media platform Threads what was fairly my first thought: “I don’t want to ride my road bike with these on the road. That is a death trap.Probably the least pedestrian and cyclist friendly vehicle outside of a semi truck.”

Anyway, here’s a video of the Cybertruck trying to take on an off-road hill. Wish they’d just use the Spesh bike…

Imagine buying a brand new truck that not only looks like total shit, but also struggles to handle an incline a 20 year old base model Subaru or Toyota could climb in a few seconds.

Tesla finally pulled off a joke that’s actually funny 🤣#tesla #Cybertruck pic.twitter.com/18e8pMPahV

— Paul // Verone 🐺🐱🐱 (@Verone3784) November 11, 2023