“At least try to make it less obvious”: Fans blast UAE Team Emirates’ new sponsor — a UAE-based AI startup with 37 followers; Cyclists horrified by “haunting” image of kid’s bike “vaporised” on driveway during Los Angeles wildfires + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“When cyclists face hardship, we ride together toward recovery”: American bike shop seeks to help Californian cyclists affected by wildfires
A US-based bike shop has stepped up in efforts to assist the local Californian cycling community in “rebuilding their lives and returning to the sport they love” after the devastating impact of the wildfires that have destroyed several neighbourhoods and killed 25 people so far.
Cycle Limited said in a press release: “As a company founded on the belief that cycling brings communities together, we’ve witnessed the profound impact these fires have had on our extended cycling family. The loss of homes, businesses, and cherished bikes has deeply affected the California cycling community, and we’re committed to playing our part in the recovery process.”
Danny Israelian, Founder of Cycle Limited, added: “The cycling community has always shown remarkable resilience and unity in challenging times. When cyclists face hardship, we ride together toward recovery.”
The bike shop is launching a comprehensive support initiative for the month of January, including a special bike donation programme on their Instagram, where they are collecting stories and gifting bikes to those most impacted by the fires, along with a $350 discount on all bike purchases and free shipping on all bikes and components for California addresses.
Bicycle lights brand closes after 35 years, citing "political winds" and "decline" of US manufacturing
It’s confirmed! Jonas Vingegaard to race La Vuelta, possibly paving way for double Grand Tour showdown with Tadej Pogačar
The 2025 road season is just one week away, and fans’ anticipation for what’s to come might just skyrocket with the confirmation that two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vinegegaard is going to ride Tour and the Vuelta a España this year. With early rumours indicating that Pogačar will also ride the Vuelta beside the Grand Boucle, fans might get a chance to see the two GC titans go toe to toe at two different Grand Tours this year.
But this also means that Vingegaard won’t be taking part in the Giro d’Italia, quashing any rumours of the Dane having a tilt at the Giro-Tour double, achieved by Pogačar last year.
In an interview released by Visma-Lease a Bike, Vingegaard said: “In 2025, my biggest goal will of course be the Tour de France, to try to win it for the third time. Then in the spring, I will do Paris-Nice, Catalunya and then also later on the Vuelta a España.
“I’m really motivated for all of these races. I’ve not won Paris-Nice yet, I was there two years ago but couldn’t win. But of course, I’m eager to come back and go for the victory.
“Also in Catalunya, I want to go for the victory. I’ve never done it before but I’m very happy to be there at the start line. And the Vuelta – it’s a special race, one of the biggest in the world. I’ve always been watching it on TV and I would love to win it as well.”
Visma-Lease a Bike has also revealed the goals for its other riders, with Wout van Aert aiming for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, along with Giro and Tour stages. Meanwhile, Adam Yates will aim to be the Dutch team’s main general classification threat at the Giro d’Italia, while riding the Tour de France as a domestique. Finally, Olav Kooij’s targets include Milan-San Remo, Gent-Wevelgem, and Giro d’Italia stages.
In the women’s peloton, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will return to road racing, riding for the first time in yellow and black. The 32-year-old former world champion’s targets are Strade Bianche and Tour de France Femmes. Marianne Vos, the team’s most senior and decorated rider, meanwhile, will aim for Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, and the green jersey at the Tour de France Femmes.
At the Visma press conference, where the leitmotif seemed to be “unfinished business”, with both Wout van Aert and Vingegaard’s 2024 goals being jeopardised due to crashes at Dwars door Vlaanderen and Tour of Basque respectively, team CEO Richard Plugge added: “We want to become number 1 again for men, and We want to grow towards that position for women.”
Brompton CEO warns chancellor removing tariffs on Chinese bikes could "kill" folding bicycle brand
> Brompton CEO warns chancellor removing tariffs on Chinese bikes could “kill” folding bicycle brand
Cyclists horrified by “haunting” image of kid’s bike “vaporised” on driveway after Los Angeles wildfires
I reckon road.cc isn’t the first place that you’d come to read about the wildfires that are unleashing unseen horrors in Greater Los Angeles, however, there’s always an intersection of climate change and the people affected by it.
While several pictures of the monstrous wildfires in Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst have been taken, perhaps a minimal and personal vignette of the horrors unfolding in the area and the wreckage left in their wake can be summed by this picture shared by Seamus Blackley on the social media platform Bluesky, writing: “My co-founder Josh Weinsch took this photo of his little daughter’s bike, which was in their driveway when they evacuated. Their neighbourhood was vaporised.”
My Co-founder Josh Weinsch took this photo of his little daughter’s bike, which was in their driveway when they evacuated. Their neighborhood was vaporized.
— Seamus Blackley (@seamus.bsky.social) 12 January 2025 at 18:33
Cyclists have been left horrified at the temperatures reached by the fires to completely eviscerate a bike most probably made out of aluminium (which melts at 660C), some even describing the situation as a “21st-century Pompeii”, and comparing the image with shadow imprints left after the nuclear explosions in Hiroshima.
One person said: “Dear lord… to see the metal gone (all but the hardest bits) is just crazy. The heat must have been incredibly intense.”
Shana Bright commented: “I saw your post earlier this morning and I just can’t get this image out of my head. Thank you for sharing. I hope your friend and his family are safe and supported. My friend lost her home. It’s been a nightmare for all,” while Nicki Stephens wrote: “A single image conveys the insane power of wildfires, the undeniable power of climate change and the dangers of belligerent inaction.”
Q36.5 shows off new Scott Addict RC and Foil RC, its race bikes for 2025
Swiss team Q36.5, buoyed by its marquee signing of Tom Pidcock, is showing off the two bikes it will be using to ride in the 2025 season, namely the Scott Addict RC and the Scott Foil RC.
The team wrote: “In 2025, we will be racing on the all-new @bikeonscott Addict RC – the lightest bike we’ve ever ridden – and the race-proven Foil RC.
“We’re proud to present the striking new design for both of these top-performing bikes. It represents our sharp, science-based focus through its strong black and white look, contrasted by flashing blue expedition-inspired blue detailing.”
"Our biggest goal, of course, is winning the Tour de France"
̶2̶0̶2̶4̶ ➟ 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓!
We want to create some sports history once again. 🐝
📺 Curious about our plans? Check them out now! 👉🏼 https://t.co/2bB6IidmxB pic.twitter.com/i8FcBhJx3S
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) January 14, 2025
New sequel to Emily in Paris?
#Dogs in #Paris. #cycling
— Eric Doherty (@ericdoherty.bsky.social) 13 January 2025 at 14:13
“Don’t threaten to steal road safety projects from children”: Local hits back at anti-cycling letter-writing driver, claiming “there is no battle between children and cyclists”
A whirlwind of thrills on this continually developing story from Bournemouth, in which a flurry of general anti-cycling nonsense in the form of letters to the editor of Daily Echo has not gone unnoticed by some perky locals and cyclists.
Yesterday on the live blog, we reported one local driver submitted a rather bizarre anti-cycling plea to the paper, arguing that children, especially those with disabilities or in need of special education were at risk because Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council was “wasting millions on underused, unwanted cycle infrastructure”.
Thankfully, Susan Stockwell of Britannia Road, Poole, has taken it upon herself to set the record straight and hit back, claiming that “there is no battle between children and cyclists”, further adding a comprehensive list of reasons explaining “why spending on road safety helps children”. The pointers include:
A) Cycle lanes help keep children alive, something most parents and grandparents are quite keen on.
B) School streets, which dramatically reduce vehicle traffic at school pick up and drop off times are hugely popular all over the country and BCP schools are queuing up for them.
C) 20mph limits are overwhelmingly welcomed for streets near schools, because most people support preventing injuries to children.
D) Child obesity levels currently run at levels which not only harm the children but also contribute to BCP’s SEND [Special Education Needs and Disabilities] requirement. Driving a child to school may make them less vulnerable in a road accident, but more vulnerable to mental as well as physical health problems through lack on exercise, especially boys.
E) Developing ADHD has been closely linked to early years exposure to air pollution.
She concludes the letter by saying: “In countries with much higher rates of safer cycling cyclists don’t have to be covered in yellow hi-viz and helmets because driving dangerously around cyclists is punished by fines and driving bans, speed limits are sensible for town driving and segregated cycle infrastructure is provided.
“There is no battle between children and cyclists. Most adults cycling today started as children and many children are cyclists. Don’t threaten to steal road safety projects from children because the government hasn’t funded SEND adequately.”
Just last week, another bizarre letter in the same online publication had seen a driver furiously claiming that cyclists are conspiring to “control the roads”, calling for cycling insurance, number plates, and bike inspections, all the while asking: “What right does a cyclist have to tell anyone what to do?” (Maybe this statement alone demanded another letter in response, with the inverse question posed.)
“I have the same bike size as Jonas”: Victor Campenaerts is going to Tour de France with Visma-Lease a Bike and there’s one amusing reason why he’s in the squad
It’s all kicking off at the Dutch team, with several new and exciting info coming from the Dutch team’s camp. Besides Vingegaard confirming Vuelta a España as part of his 2025 programme, another news cycling fans can get excited about is that the ever-affable Belgian rider Victor Campenaerts, will be going to the Tour de France for the first time in yellow and black.
But despite securing a stage win last time around in the most dramatic of circumstances, this time, the 33-year-old will be playing the role of a domestique and aiming to help team leader Vingegaard win the Tour.
However, even Campenaerts was surprised when he found out that he would be included in the Tour squad. “I actually asked them. Why me as the last man?” he asked the team, according to the Sporza.
Well, there were a number of reasons — with one of them rather amusing but also quite practical.
“One of the most important things is that I can also hold my own in hectic conditions,” he explained. “I have proven that in the classics, often in the service of De Lie. With many riders who can ride uphill, that is a bit more difficult.”
“I am also a strong rider who can ride at the front and I can also climb a mountain.”
“Another advantage is that I have the same bike size as Jonas. That can come in handy. Just look at Jan Tratnik last year. He rode a great Tour, but his most valuable contribution was without a doubt when he gave his bike to Jonas.”
I assume all of us would be frantically trying to find this live blog post when Vingegaard eventually gets a mechanical on Hautacam and Campenaerts comes out of the shadows to lend him his bike…
New Spanish law to "protect" cyclists proposes drivers must slow 20km/h below speed limit before overtaking bike riders
“At least try to make it less obvious”: Fans blast UAE Team Emirates’ latest sponsor — a UAE-based AI startup with 37 followers on social media
UAE Team Emirates’ latest sponsor has drummed up a fair bit of chatter on social media, with fans accusing the team of “sportswashing” by having a UAE-based artificial intelligence startup with a social media account with 37 followers (at the time of writing), and apparently, just 14 when the announcement was made, onboard as a sponsor.
“14 followers, can they stop acting like this isn’t just another branch of the UAE Team? This is why budget caps will never work in cycling,” wrote Elias on Twitter, while another fan account noted: “19-follower AI business, at least TRY to make it less obvious.”
Andreas Hedensted, meanwhile, commented: “Just buy some fake followers to make it more believable.”
The company in question is called Analog AI, launched during the Davos Forum 2023 by Abu Dhabi-based Brazilian engineer Alex Kipman. It received an undisclosed amount of funding from another UAE-based AI and cloud computing giant G42 last year, with the latter also sponsoring F1 team Mercedes-AMG Petronas.
Analog AI wrote on LinkedIn: “At Analog, we are driven by the belief that technology should amplify human potential. We’re honoured to join forces with UAE Team Emirates as their Official Technology Sponsor.
“With Analog Sports, our all-in-one platform, we’re not just managing data—we’re transforming it into insights that elevate team strategy, foster unity, and unlock untapped possibilities.
“This partnership represents a shared vision of reimagining what’s possible in cycling and beyond. The future of the sport is here — and we’re building it together.”
Analog AI is also behind the pro cycling outfit’s AI data bot ‘Ana’, which is helping them craft “artificial intelligence solutions centred around human needs, effectively narrowing the gap between potential and reality,” with insiders believing it can transform the team’s performance future and give them an edge in the “artificial intelligence arms race”.
Speaking to Velo, UAE Team Emirates’ performance co-ordinator Jeroen Swart said: “The capabilities [of AI] are crazy. That’s where we’re heading at the moment. It’s in the process of being transformative. So we have to work out how best to utilise that technology and where to get the benefits. That is a very key area that we’re working on.”
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31 Comments
Latest Comments
@Pub bike People might even be tempted to leave them on if they were halfway competent, a courtesy car I had recently insisted that a 3t weight limit sign was a 30mph sign.
@mattsccm Can you be a bit more specific, is that 955 worldwide since the invention of the motor car?
I think we have to be realistic. It appears that the pedestrian was at fault and thus the cyclist should have no blame what so ever. Indeed they should be compensated, ideally from the pedestrian house insurance and if not through the MIB which exists for similar purposes. Equally motorised vehicle users should not be penalised for the stupidity of people. I recall, but sadly cannot prove it, evidence that something like 955 of all car/pedestrian collisions were the pedestrians fault and yet drivers are penalised by having to have ridiculous "soft" panels on cars which serve little or no purpose when linked to cars hitting road users. Think also 4wd bull bars being banned for no legitimate reason.
I’m sorry for the Mr Griffith’s loss but it was widely reported at the time that his mum stepped into the road without looking and around 2 metres from the approaching cyclists. Had the cyclists been a car she would have likely been run over and killed and the story wouldn’t even be reported as “news”. Likewise had she stepped out, knocked over and killed the cyclist it would likely not have been “news” worth reporting. The root cause of the death was failure to look before stepping out into the road.
Unfortunately (at least in the UK now) you just have to expect the unexpected around pedestrians *. Just slow down and be prepared for sudden odd moves - or indeed the opposite, people freezing when you "appear out of nowhere" (despite sporting hi-viz, daylight running lights, ringing bells / running spokey-dokeys...) Annoying but ultimately to your benefit as well as theirs... * And indeed drivers...
Your reminder also that "penalties as deterrents" for road crime is ... very questionable. For those affected - one is too many. But cyclist-caused deaths stand out by their rarity AND because we have normalised - well, minimized protests about - deaths due to motor vehicle drivers. How to stop deaths in the first place? You can't go wrong with a "sustainable safety" approach, instead of the UK's one which has leant heavily on reducing the number of vulnerable road users out and about and invoking the law as a backstop. While impossible to know why she stepped out here I suspect in cases like this one it is simply "not expecting cyclists" or "being unfamiliar with the speed cyclists can attain". And alas the only thing that really changes that is having *more* cyclists and enough "practical learning"...
Your reminder that there is nothing to stop cyclists being prosecuted for causing death by the manner of their riding - indeed there are (are they in use?) new laws on this. ...and indeed cyclists have been prosecuted and convicted. How *easy* this is - that's another thing. Hard to gauge given how uncommonly this occurs.
@the little onion Hit the deck because a pedestrian crossed the road while the light was green for road traffic. I shouted "watch out!", she froze then reversed while I was riding around her from behind. Bang! A pedestrian collided with me and my bike while crossing the road when it was forbidden. Crikey!
And there would be no discussion about "dangerous and speeding cyclists" which has yet to be defined.
Motivated - this is the mur Strava top 10 for men and women, times are not similar at all - Women top 10 - 3:48-4:07 Men top 10 - 3:04-3:14
31 thoughts on ““At least try to make it less obvious”: Fans blast UAE Team Emirates’ new sponsor — a UAE-based AI startup with 37 followers; Cyclists horrified by “haunting” image of kid’s bike “vaporised” on driveway during Los Angeles wildfires + more on the live blog”
That’s a horrific image. I’ve
That’s a horrific image. I’ve friends in LA. They’re safe, for now.
I can’t see what the big deal
I can’t see what the big deal is, it’s a well burnt bike – ashes of, and ?
leedorney wrote:
Well, brutally, it’s because it’s reminiscent of images from Hiroshima.
Yea but its only a bike.
Yea but its only a bike. <shrug>
Really?
Really?
Call me a traditionalist, but
Call me a traditionalist, but in my book you can only sponsor a cycling team if your business relates to agriculture, home improvements or coffee machines. Possibly also food items.
I wonder who is funding
I wonder who is funding AnalogAI, to then “launder” that donation through to the actual team?
but would they gain by that
but would they gain by that “Laundering”, I don’t see the advantage to anyone in advertising a brand that doesn’t really have anything to sell or promote. Who has what to gain from this farce.
Would there be an advantage
Would there be an advantage in UAE Team pumping money into AnalogAI who then give it back to them?
EK Spinner wrote:
Perhaps the person actually donating the money, behind Analog, is someone that the team wouldn’t like to be seen being supported by? I can think of lots of companies and countries which might attract the wrong sort of attention from protesters.
Ahh yes, if you were getting
Ahh yes, if you were getting money from someone that maybe is less press friendly then you would maybe want to hide it, but what do they gain if they can’t openly sponsor the team. Maybe I am just not cynical enough.
Anal log totally counts then
Anal log totally counts then
I didn’t realise X / Twitter
I didn’t realise X / Twitter still had 37 users!
My favourite team was the
My favourite team was the Agritubel-Gerolsteiner-Saeco-Parmalat-CreditAgricole-Segafreddo-Soudal-Quickstep-Mapei-FassaBortolo squad.
Private school run in south
Private school run in south London linked to 27% rise in air pollution (gRauniad)
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jan/14/private-school-run-in-south-london-linked-to-27-per-cent-rise-in-air-pollution
This is my manor and I can
This is my manor and I can categorically confirm that it’s true, at the end of the school holidays there’s usually a week where we are cycling around in the mornings saying you know what, the old school run hasn’t had too much effect on the traffic, and then the privates go back and it’s carmageddon. There are two massive private schools – James Allen’s Girls and Alleyns – and a public school, Dulwich College, in the same neighbourhood along with numerous prep schools and private nurseries. There are plenty of big state schools as well but the vast majority of pupils use public transport (with which the area is exceptionally well provided), it is indisputably the Range Rovers, BMWX5s and Porsche Cayennes of the private school parents that dramatically snarl up the traffic, not to mention the fact that both the private schools run coach services from other parts of London for their pupils that completely block the roads outside their establishments morning and evening.
I live near and cycle past a
I live near and cycle past a few private schools in Highgate (North London). When they break up it’s like ‘reclaim the streets’; it’s possible to breathe, to cycle and walk without 4x4s blocking everything and there are not endless queues of motor vehicles. There is even one school where the system is – you drive up to the entrance, the child disembarks and then the next car does the same. It’s an endless line of vehicles every morning and afternoon. The cars don’t even stop a hundred metres away and let the child walk – they are dropped off right outside the school gates.
“The cars don’t even stop a
“The cars don’t even stop a hundred metres away and let the child walk…”
Are those cars self driving/autonomous?
No.
A driver is behind the wheel.
“The PARENTS don’t even stop a hundred metres away and let the child walk…”
mitsky wrote:
You’re making a huge assumption there that it’s the parents who are driving.
mark1a wrote:
Well I doubt its the kids. 😉
Secret_squirrel wrote:
Ah, but it could be Nanny or Alfred Pennyworth…
Secret_squirrel wrote:
Maybe it’s their butler?
Secret_squirrel wrote:
No and it’s quite likely it’s the parents driving, but every other post here from mitsky is critical of other content describing “cars” doing this or “vehicles” doing that, with the 94th reference to the road collision reporting guidelines of this month. I agree with the sentiment, but it gets old after a while, because the readers on here who agree with rc-rg.com policy really don’t need telling on every single day’s live blog, and the people who don’t probably never will.
I was merely pointing out that equally, it can’t be assumed that the people inside the vehicle are related.
The only solution is to stop
The only solution is to stop privete education, compulsory attendance at the catchement state school for the pupils home address with no options to place at different schools, this would then eliminate the need for the driveing past other schools to drop off. possibly a little extreme but even within the state sector the whole process of selecting schools and placing requests etc results in a massive amount of crossing traffic, if everyone went to thier catchment school then the micro society that makes up a school would reflect the demographic of the area around it and not seperate slices as we have at the moment perticulary at the top and bottom of the societal ladder.
On a side note, why do the english insist on calling private schools public when they are anything but, a ridiculous oxomoron if if ever there was one.
I’m not sure “if everyone
I’m not sure “if everyone went to their catchment school then the micro society that makes up a school …” is a recipe for more social mixing at all! (Even ignoring existing clumpiness of society, where parents *can* move they may well.)
I do agree there’s a great deal of travel that’s “because we can” however, which over the generations of mass motoring has become it’s own … driver.
EK Spinner wrote:
They (we) don’t – public schools are only a subset of private schools. Originally, they were the schools in which any member of the public could enrol (provided, of course, that they could afford the fees), as opposed to those where intake was limited to a specific location, relation to a specific institution, etc. Of course, that distinction has mostly eroded to the point of meaninglessness over the years, but that’s language for you – it tends to preserve the echoes of the past, and that’s no more of an English trait than it is of anyone else’s.
mdavidford wrote:
Legally, they are all “independent schools”
Steve K wrote:
But just to confuse things further, we have lots of independent schools that are not “independent schools”…
EK Spinner wrote:
Or – alternatively explore options which nobble all SUV usage rather than a clickbait analysis, thats unique to 1 particular area because bashing Independent schooling is politically in fashion. Its a hyperlocal niche issue and totally dependent on the ratio of independent to state schools in an area. Im pretty sure I could find somewhere with 1 independent and 5 state schools so the stats skew the other way.
How do you feel about universities BTW? Now elaborate how they are any less elitist?
EK Spinner wrote:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_school_(United_Kingdom)
Is very noticeable in south
Is very noticeable in south west London when the state schools are back but the Independant schools are still off the traffic is much lighter than normal. Ibstock Place School which is neat to Roehampton Gate of Richmond Park has a big parking problem with parent driving and parking on the pavement nearby as well as the congestion (even though they run a shuttle bus from the nearest station).