Live blog: Ex -transport secretary swaps car for bike and wins bet, Sky's new owners Comcast to continue to finance Team Sky till 2021?, campaign to let school run parents use bus lanes, BBC Bristol commuter race highlights cycling infra need + more

FSA/Vision's new ACR System is a fully integrated aero cable routing
solution that houses all cables, wires and hoses internally for a super clean look. The core of the system is built around the headset and an integrated cockpit, and by using standard headset dimensions, FSA say the system maintains strength. By routing cables through the headset, it also safely preserves a round steering column that is free of drilling, and brands can utilise a single frame design at a variety of spec levels just by adjusting cockpit and headset selection. We've got it on a brand spanking new Bianchi Oltre XR4 Disc that will be reviewed on the site soon, so stay tuned...

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports Sky/Comcast have committed to fund "70% of the team's budget"* for 2020-21 to help Team Sky continue while a replacement owner/sponsor is found

— the Inner Ring (@inrng) January 9, 2019

The Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport reported in their newspaper today that Comcast, who recently paid £30 billion for Sky, will continue funding the cycling team that bears its name through 2020-21. It's thought that they've guaranteed up to 70% of the financing to Dave Brailsford, and the rest of the money would need to be raised from other sponsors. 

Last month Sky announced they will end sponsorship of the cycling team at the end of the 2019 season, piling pressure on Brailsford and co to find new financial backers to keep the team going - we'll be following this to see if the reports are true over the coming days. 

The Plymouth Live poll is currently dead against the novel idea of letting parents use/clog up bus lanes to take their kids to school... and you lot appear to agree. 

There are so many things wrong here we don't know where to begin, but we'll attempt to summarise - an article on the Plymouth Herald's website Plymouth Live is 'reporting' that a car leasing company, fittingly called LeaseCar, have started a campaign calling for parents on the school run to be allowed to use bus lanes. They say it could ease congestion and "save hours" for mums and dads by allowing them to skip the morning rush hour: "families who must promptly arrive at school before work often get held up on congested British roads and need help to avoid lateness. Allowing parents to make use of quiet bus lanes would save them valuable time and help sleep deprived pupils cope with annually increasing educational pressure. A quicker journey to school should mean children have more time at home to spend on homework and extracurricular activities, with the family and resting."

If you live in a city or have common sense, you may also be thinking that allowing parents on to bus lanes may simply... clog up bus lanes, thus making it slower for buses carrying lots of people more efficiently to make their journeys, and also make it more dangerous for cyclists who are legally permitted to use bus lanes in the UK. 

While local news website comment sections aren’t usually renowned for being favourable towards cycling and sustainable transport, the 26 comments and counting on Plymouth Live so far appear to be overwhelmingly against the campaign as well. The idea of safer streets so kids can cycle to school instead is suggested, and it's also mentioned that it would be extremely difficult to police. 

What's all the more odd is how the article appears on Plymouth Live (link here ICYMI) - author Max Channon hasn't used quotation marks after the brief intro outlining LeaseCar's cunning plan, so the text reads like a piece of Plymouth Live's own editorial... is this a strange misguided advert that Plymouth Live have failed to label as such? Do Plymouth Live actually just think this is a good idea? Would you share a bus lane with lots of people carriers taking their little cherubs to school?? We're confused, it's all confusing, we don't know what's going on! 

*We can't find an original source of the campaign and there's nothing about it on LeaseCar's website... however Plymouth Live are currently running a poll asking if we think parents should be able to use bus lanes, which is probably the best way to voice your displeasure at the moment.

Why does a cycle hoop need a consultation but a super charger for e-car just gets to go ahead?

— Sean (@seanlondonandon) January 8, 2019