Brutal suffering Mark Cavendish endures to make Tour de France time cut seen in behind-the-scenes footage from savage mountain stage; “Never again”: John Archibald wins 100-mile TT… in record-breaking 3:12:58; Weekend round-up + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Weekend round-up: Elisa Longo Borghini wins Giro d'Italia; The world's lightest road bike; Covid and crisps cause consternation; Number plates
Having won the opening time trial in Brescia, Elisa Longo Borghini was then never out of pink for the rest of the Giro d’Italia, securing a first GC victory at her home Grand Tour on the final stage to L’Aquila as Mauritian rider Kim Le Court won the day.
10/10 for Trek’s pink paint job too…
Longo Borghini’s lead had just been a single second heading into the final stage, setting up a potential showdown for the ages with Lotte Kopecky, the home favourite extending her advantage on the mountainous roads of Abruzzo.
Elsewhere in the world of cycling this weekend…
Drunk Tour de France spectator who threw bag of crisps at Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard arrested for aggravated assault, with riders’ union set to take legal action “with pleasure”
Fancy owning ‘the world’s lightest e-road bike’? That’ll be £16,800… plus Columbus makes custom bikes cable-tidy, new Cipollini endurance road bike + more
Councillor suggests mandatory number plates and penalty points for cyclists — so that bikes are on “level playing field with lorries, vans and cars”
Tour de France reintroduces mask mandate as Carlos Rodriguez describes Covid as “invisible rival” after teammates Tom Pidcock and Geraint Thomas test positive
"Never again": John Archibald wins 100-mile TT... in record-breaking 3:12:58
Holy mother of…
31.2mph (50.2km/h) for a little over THREE HOURS, a monster ride from John Archibald to win the RTTC National 100 Mile Championship up in the Lake District this weekend, unsurprisingly also setting a competition record in the process. Mind boggling.
"Really eye-opening and instructive": New Transport Secretary Louise Haigh enjoys road.cc contributor Laura Laker's book about Britain's National Cycle Network
Shout-out to the little onion and Steve K for the heads up in the comments about this social media post from the new Transport Secretary Louise Haigh…
Haigh told followers: “A spot of Sunday reading in between my Ministerial briefs. Really eye-opening and instructive.”
Laura has written loads of news and features for road.cc over the years, so it’s pretty cool to see her book catching the attention of the new Transport Secretary. Obviously we had to get Laura on the podcast to talk all things National Cycle Network and all the details about ‘Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network’ can be found here.
REVIEW: Canyon Ultimate CFR AXS 2024
It's coming home (by bike)...
When’s the Olympics start? Guess were gonna have to settle for fucking cycling coming home.
— Jamie H (@JamieHComedy) July 14, 2024
New VanMoof offers "gesture" to customers who never got bikes they paid for pre-bankruptcy... by offering £850 discount code if they buy ANOTHER bike
When Dutch e-bike brand VanMoof was declared bankrupt last year, some customers who had ordered bikes that had not yet arrived were left out of pocket and with no bicycle to show for it. Now, with the company reborn, the brand is offering a “gesture” to those customers by… *checks notes*… telling them they can have £850 off, if they buy another bike.
The company is offering a €1000 / $1000 / £850 discount code off a VanMoof S5, A5 or future product to riders affected, prompting many to ask how exactly asking customers to pay even more money to the brand is the answer.
“From conversations we’ve had with our community, we hear how frustrating the situation has been for customers who didn’t receive the bikes they ordered from the old VanMoof,” co-CEO Eliott Wertheimer said. “While we’re aware that our gesture does not constitute a full resolution on its own, we hope it makes a difference.”
The communication continues: “VanMoof’s gesture does not replace the existing claims process: affected customers still have the opportunity to receive compensation through their claims process with the bankruptcy trustees – and are encouraged to do so. Pre-bankruptcy customers may be eligible for the €1000 discount if they couldn’t claim back their money from their bank or payment provider and meet the requirements.”
POC officially launches Cytal Carbon helmet worn by EF Education First featuring a 'carbon wing'
> POC officially launches Cytal Carbon helmet worn by EF Education First featuring a ‘carbon wing’
The greatest climbing performance in Tour de France history? Reaction to Tadej Pogačar's stunning weekend
A Tour de France weekend that will go down in history, a tale that will be relived and revered for decades to come — the back-to-back stage victories of yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar that (all being well in week three) won the Slovenian superstar his third Tour title.
The data boffins are saying it may well me the greatest climbing performance the Tour de France has ever seen, his Plateau de Beille destruction close to seven watts per kilo for 40 minutes. Multiply your own bodyweight by seven and have a think about how long you could push that number of watts for. Then add in the context of it all coming at the end of two weeks of country-crossing elite road racing, in the final hour of a 200km mountain stage.
And while nobody except Pogačar and his UAE circle will know the watts per kilo numbers for sure, the time he conquered the HC summit finish (16km at eight per cent) was 39:44, faster than Marco Pantani’s stage-winning performance en route to the Giro-Tour double in 1998, quicker than Lance Armstrong’s stage win in 2002, and almost six minutes faster than the fastest times at the 2015 Tour…
Plateau de Beille (15,74km; 7,94%; 1250m)
2024 | 39’44 | T.Pogacar – RECORD
2015 | 45’31 | 9 riders
2011 | 46’20 | Vanendert
2007 | 44’07 | Contador, Rasmussen
2004 | 45’31 | Armstrong, Basso
2002 | 45’55 | Armstrong
1998 | 43’28 | PantaniGreatest performance ever. pic.twitter.com/uqXHJYWPBy
— MF Na1chaca (@NaichacaCycling) July 14, 2024
Jonas Vingegaard confirmed to Danish TV cameras that it was his “best performance” ever too, a statement presumably informed by his power numbers.
“I have improved. Yesterday, I was better than I have ever been before. So must Pogačar be too,” he told TV2. It’s hard to argue with that final sentence. Something tells me we’ll be watching clips of that summit finish for years to come, history being made before our eyes.
How will the third week play out? Will UAE ride more defensively now they’ve got a gap? Can Visma-Lease a Bike and Vingegaard do anything to overhaul the yellow jersey? Could the Alps’ longer climbs and high altitude cause Pogačar problems at the end of a monumental block of Grand Tour racing through the early summer? We’ve got some week in store…
Cycling's next superteam? Astana Qazaqstan confirm major investment from Chinese company XDS
Astana Qazaqstan used the Tour de France rest day to announce that “long-term investment for a period of at least five years and financing at the level of leading WorldTour teams” is coming, a deal that has been known about for some time and is expected to return the Kazakh WorldTour team to the sport’s very top table.
Chinese company XDS is providing the funds, the CEO Yancong Tan asserting that the team will have the “strongest backup” and “very enough budget and the best technical support”.
The team’s General Manager Alexandr Vinokurov admitted there will be “significant changes”, but added his belief that the deal would ensure the team can reach “a new level”.
Cyclists call for clampdown on "intolerant", speeding, close passing drivers – weeks after MSP claimed tourists on e-bikes were "more focused on the scenery than the road" and holding up motorists
Brutal suffering Mark Cavendish endures to make Tour de France time cut seen in behind-the-scenes footage from savage mountain stage
It’s a rest day at the Tour de France, the grupetto including Mark Cavendish and his Astana Qazaqstan teammates having earned the day off more than most. All in the hope of one more shot at stage victory on Tuesday’s 16th stage, the final chance for the sprinters at this year’s race, the fast men have battled through the Pyrenees this weekend, racing the time cut.
Mark Cavendish finishes inside the time cut with just under two minutes to spare. #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/iQfYNq15MA
— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) July 14, 2024
Cavendish and three Astana teammates came home two minutes within the cut off that sees those who miss it sent packing from the race. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL’s Bram Welten was less fortunate and is heading home having reached the top of Plateau de Beille four minutes too late.
The last man to finish within the time limit was Arnaud Démare, the Frenchman sneaking home with 45 seconds to spare, almost 53 minutes after Tadej Pogačar crossed the line.
Arnaud Demare arrived inside the time limit by just 30 seconds. Infernal stage.#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/T6WI8fChrW
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) July 14, 2024
The brutal reality of what it takes for the sprinters to make it through the mountains was once again laid bare over the weekend, Astana Qazaqstan sharing some behind-the-scenes footage of Cavendish’s suffering and the moments after the line. Just wait for when he’s told the bus is parked 16km away…
🇫🇷 VIDEO: @LeTour
Well, for us it was a day to survive and to bring our leader @MarkCavendish to the finish line atop Plateau de Beille inside the time cut. And we succeeded after a strong team effort! You are legends, guys!#TDF2024 #AstanaQazaqstanTeam pic.twitter.com/3esYQLTt61
— Astana Qazaqstan Team (@AstanaQazTeam) July 14, 2024
“Thank you so much guys, youse are legends. Absolute legends,” a relieved Cavendish refuelled on ketones and water tells his teammates before the camaraderie of the grupetto is displayed yet again, a pat on the back from John Degenkolb as the backmarkers prepare to head back down the mountain to their respective buses and a well-earned day off.
Tomorrow they’ll all be battling each other with elbows out sprint lead-outs, but for the weekend at least all those sprinters might as well have been teammates. A monumental effort from all. It’ll be interesting to see how many stay on beyond Tuesday, after all the final week looks… (how shall I put this?)… challenging…
After Tuesday’s expected sprint there are two medium mountain breakaway-style days, two brutal mountain days, and one hilly TT, no stage with less than 3,000m of climbing (except the TT which packs 700m of elevation into 34km). Fair play to any sprinter still around to tackle that.
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.
30 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
@mctrials23 totally agree, I think the problem is perhaps finding a police officer these days with a basic grasp of maths - or at least the authority to deploy it without being bestowed with the title of "trained forensic specialist".
"The net result of this confusion was police forces in Wales no longer issuing warning letters to drivers who dangerously overtake cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders, despite there being no formal policy change." That is one result, but my understanding is that it's wider than this - they were getting so many submissions that they are no longer taking action on *any* offence where the action would be a warning letter. So, for example, zig-zag line offences, where South Wales Police previously acted on OpSnap reports, are now NFAd. That begs a further question though - if you've already had a warning letter for an offence, a repeat offence should potentially result in a fine or prosecution. Are they checking each report to see if the reported driver has previously had a warning, or just NFA-ing all offences of a particular type? Any thoughts, wjts?!
The leader's team would get on the front and block the roads through Montmartre and completely kill the spectacle. Let's face it, the last stage has always been meaningless apart from the sprint, now it's meaningless apart from a superb and thrilling triple lap of Montmartre followed by a sprint. Neutralising GC helped that spectacle - imagine if Tadej had needed to go back and help bring Del Toro up. The roads are too narrow to allow for really fair racing, if we want the wonder of the Montmartre loop then GC neutralisation is the price we have to pay, and one well worth paying in my view.
@mdavidford Exactly this.
The big thing that the technical analysis missed out is positioning on the bike. Modern riders do aero work on their road bike and have much better discipline on holding position than even riders 10 years ago. I think Dan Bingham summed it up, his team rode with an old POC helmet with a massive peak whereas Sky had a little stub tail Cask helmet the idea being that it was less sensitive to head position. Bingham said that the long tail helmet was about 15W faster. “How hard would you train to get 15w more power, is it harder than training yourself to live with that helmet?” Pantani is standing up on the pedals, bare head, shirt open, rocking and rolling everywhere with his position, vs someone who is sat on the seat in a quasi time trial position. The 90’s riders were rank amateurs compared with those today, so it’s not a massive surprise that 30 years of progress can beat EPO.
@HoarseMann Oh I can assure you that plenty of passes can be proved with absolute certainty to have been illegal purely from generous guesses on the size of cars and the size of lanes. Lets say you drive a 2m wide car that takes up 2/3rd of a lane in a video. Someone with a basic grasp of maths would be able to tell you that you couldn't overtake a cyclist without moving into the opposite lane even if the cyclist was 0cm wide and somehow riding on the very edge of the road where it meets the pavement. Someone with a basic understanding of maths would be able to tell you that unless the car was 1.5m or less wide on a 3m wide road, its impossible to overtake by staying on your side of the road with 1.5m space even if the cyclist took up 0 space. They simply don't want to do anything about it. Its got absolutely nothing to do with holding up in court because that wouldn't be an issue in a huge number of cases and they know it. No one in their right mind would go to court to contest it.
That's... not right. The prosecution has to* prove beyond reasonable doubt that the offence was committed, but not that every single detail of statements made by their witnesses is accurate. And HoarseMann is correct that it doesn't mean the same as "with absolute certainty", otherwise it would be "beyond *all* doubt". [* More accurately, should have to. In practice, when it comes to offences against cyclists, the system often does seem to demand that it's proven beyond unreasonable doubt as well, but that's not what the standard is supposed to be, or what's applied to other offences. ]
has anyone else seen this story from the BBC - basically, a cyclist in West Yorkshire reported a close pass, and the police went through their footage and the cyclist ended up paying a £1,200 fine for dangerous cycling for squeezing in the gap between a parked car and an oncoming car. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cd9w2l2wqvdo I'm a believer in fairness, proportionality and so on, so there are several key things here: -that is a terrible piece of cycling, posing a danger to themselves, and some small danger to the driver because the cyclist could have ended up smashing through the windscreen -there is absolutely NO WAY that any driver in West Yorkshire has been fined £1,200 for a close pass on a cyclist, even if they took it all the way to court and had to pay costs etc. -there is a strong "man bites dog" element to this story. Drivers endangering cyclists is mundane and everyday, not worthy of being reported in the BBC. Cyclists endangering drivers is the unusual exception, which then gets reported. P.S. as a measure of the standard of driving which endangers cyclists but DOESN'T get prosecuted by West Yorkshire police, they decided that this close pass/undertake wasn't a crime: https://vimeo.com/1079291114/f8d5ab5f41
Completely agree. Neutralising GC half way through a stage is just utterly absurd. What are they thinking? Imagine if Del Toro had not made it back on in time, what would have happened then? He'd have lost the white jersey *because* of ASOs dumb decision to try protect the starting GC standings. Either the GC standings are frozen at the gun (still requiring them to finish) or they should be taken at the end of the stage.
I'm fine with GC being taken far from the line. Those who want to race can, and by God they did, and those who want to kick back and enjoy the last hour of the Tour waving to fans can do that, and by God they earned it.
30 thoughts on “Brutal suffering Mark Cavendish endures to make Tour de France time cut seen in behind-the-scenes footage from savage mountain stage; “Never again”: John Archibald wins 100-mile TT… in record-breaking 3:12:58; Weekend round-up + more on the live blog”
road.cc wrote:
Well, not just that. If that was all it was, I don’t doubt a lot of them would have just abandoned. The possibility of simply finishing a Tour is probably at least as important to many of them, especially if, like Cavendish, it’s your last one (again).
The most exciting cycling
The most exciting cycling news in politics this year, or even for several decades. A weekend tweet by the current Transport Secretary:
https://x.com/LouHaigh/status/1812482249771643367
Tweeting that, a week or so into the job, she is reading and enjoying Laura Laker’s (of this parish) book about the National Cycle Network.
Given that in recent years we have had transport ministers going on about 15 minute city conspiracy theories, this is an immense positive step. Now, let’s see some action!
You beat me to it – I
You beat me to it – I literally just came on here to share that tweet!
I think this is good – let’s
I think this is good – let’s hope they don’t just skim it and say “so we already have a great network! It just needs a polish.” Or “yes – we should encourage people to cycle … by giving Sustrans a donation to make more recreational shared-cycling and walking paths…”
Hoping she makes time for a chat with St. Chris Boardman soon. Or follows that book with eg. Peter Walker’s Bike Nation. Or all of those plus a guided tour of somewhere in NL (showing how all their transport systems work together) followed by a “compare and contrast” with the average UK urban environment…
Don’t forget though Keith’s nervous clinging to the Conservative’s pivot to “on the side of the drivers” – and that he has said similar more than once. Apparently thinking that the Uxbridge by-election was all about hate for ULEZ and things like LTNs.
I’ve long thought that anyone
I’ve long thought that anyone involved in decisions around urban planning, especially for transport, should be made to read Happy City by Charles Montgomery.
Yes – so many. A UK one from
Yes – so many. A UK one from 1993(!) (now I think downloadable as PDF) – “Death on the Streets: Cars and the mythology of road safety” by Dr. Robert Davis.
Another might be ‘Movement’
Another might be ‘Movement’ by Thalia Verkade: https://scribepublications.co.uk/books-authors/books/movement-9781911344971
Haven’t read Happy City (or
Haven’t read Happy City (or indeed what may be a US counterpart, “Confessions of a recovering traffic engineer“). I think a good list would have books which investigate the ideas that a) it’s actually possible to have a much better built environment that much of what we have and b) it shouldn’t involved tipping over into some over-planned dystopia c) but equally just “letting things take their course” will not get us there.
Actually in the UK we haven’t just let things take their course: we – our politicians and planners – have strongly pushed motoring over the last century or so, and/or reduced the convenience of other modes.
chrisonabike wrote:
I’ve read both of those books, and they’re both great, but nothing like each other.
From about 1:17
From about 1:17
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg3jy6vejepo
Some scary ones there 😮
Some scary ones there 😮
Lots of stupid behaviour.
Lots of stupid behaviour.
But I don’t understand why the clip that starts at 1:43 made it in. If you watch very carefully, the light is actually green in the first frame or two when the walker starts to cross – it’s not entirely clear where the signal is on the other side, but perfectly plausible that the walker was already passed the signal when it changed to red. He walks across at a reasonable speed, and has finished crossing with plenty of time to spare (out the gate, closes it behind him, then another couple of seconds pass before the train arrives). I would note the CCTV is sped up by 2x – you can play it at 0.5x on BBC to get effectively real time (also helps to see the green light) and played at that speed, it really doesn’t feel like a dangerous situation.
If Network Rail feel it was dangerous, I suggest they review the signal timing.
The train would have sounded
The train would have sounded it’s horn on approach to the crossing, assuming that light doesn’t have audible warning as well. And the side the dog walker crossed from might not be in sync with the light the opposite side.
It’s clearly a crossing that’s had issues in the past to end up with a camera.
Hard to know whether the
Hard to know whether the walker has passed the signal on green and also whether there is an audible alarm that they would’ve heard (I would guess that there is, isn’t it compulsory to help warn partially sighted or blind people?) but it’s pretty stupid to cross the railway line if you can see a train coming no matter what the state of the lights or how far away the train is, it’s impossible accurately to judge their speed from head on. Also, people have been injured or killed when they thought they had plenty of time but they slipped or tripped – that was the case a few years ago when one poor woman was killed because her stiletto heel got stuck in the track groove. Walking with dogs brings an extra risk, however well-trained one can’t guarantee they are not going to panic or see another animal they want to chase, if you get the lead round your legs and trip over the train could easily be on you before you’ve got time to get back up. It’s not the most stupid one on the compilation by any means – some of them are truly hair raising – but still pretty silly I would say, and all to save maybe twenty seconds’ wait…
Yeah – both of them?! The
Yeah – both of them?! The cyclist on the wrong side of the road (already should have stopped) … and then the other cyclist hooning it a few seconds after the barriers had clearly started descending… Presumably partly why they switch to the centre; initially I though they were just trying to avoid the oncoming cyclist but I think it’s as much “through the gap”.
Where are people’s heads at?
The others – there were clearly 2 or 3 “kids playing chicken / stupid bravado” which I guess I’d expect but the rest? I’d take away every one’s pedestrian and bike licences, never mind their driving ones…
I’d like to think the van
I’d like to think the van driver and his mate especially got a ticket and a ban,
sadly I think that’s the signal box camera and they aren’t always backed up with number plate gatsos.
stonojnr wrote:
…and a bill for damages.
mdavidford wrote:
…and a bill for damages.— stonojnr
Ah but that’s what they pay road tax for you see… and they seem to be “working men” so just think how much their company is adding to the economy (there’s employment, tax that I’m sure they’re paying, “growth” etc.)
Besides – think about how much hard-working motorists are subsidising those trains!
Some Belgian examples – https
Some Belgian examples – https://x.com/Ogilvie_CJ/status/1812559536533942702?s=19
Not denying the suffering,
Not denying the suffering, but Cavendish was obviously pulling a Ghislain Lambert, yesterday on the finish line…
Reintroducing a mask mandate?
Reintroducing a mask mandate? How dumb can you get.
As dumb as brexit? As dumb as
As dumb as brexit? As dumb as MAGA? As dumb as “it’s just a harmless cold”?
As dumb as you?
As dumb as you?
If you pre-ordered a Van Moof
If you pre-ordered a Van Moof with a credit card and never got it you should be able to get your money back from the credit card company.
Always pay with a credit card.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/section75-protect-your-purchases/
It’s difficult looking at
It’s difficult looking at Pogacar’s time, so far ahead of dopers in the 90s and 2000s.
I think we have to assume it
I think we have to assume it’s legitimate unless there is evidence to the contrary.
That may be a triumph of hope
That may be a triumph of hope over experience
Well, there’s a bit of non
Well, there’s a bit of non-pro context in this same blog: John Archibald riding 100 miles at over 50 kmh. He beat one of Marcin Biablocki’s comp records and they looked unbeatable. In fact the 100 comp record has come down by 7 minutes since just 2017. So whatever is happening in cycle racing it’s not only pros and it’s not inevitably doping.
Doping is not restricted to
Doping is not restricted to the pros, and aerodynamics as much more important in a TT than a hill climb. This negates much of the equipment advantage that current riders enjoy over riders of yesteryear – bikes haven’t got lighter thanks to the UCI minimum weight.
Quote:
I’ll be honest: I really can’t see too many customers of ‘old’ VanMoof taking ‘new’ VanMoof up on this offer…
(“Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!”)