Live blog: Puntastic! – our fave headlines from the MSM after they picked up the Porn Pedallers story we broke yesterday, Epic fail for BMW pedestrian (and cyclist) avoidance system, Olympic champ Callum Skinner retires + more

The route for the inaugural Women’s Tour of Scotland was unveiled in Edinburgh yesterday.

The three-day race takes place from 9-11 August, with the opening stage running from Dundee to Dunfermline.

That will be followed by a stage from Glasgow to Perth, with the closing stage starting and finishing in Edinburgh.

Olympic gold medallist Katie Archibald was at yesterday’s launch in the Scottish capital and will ride the event this summer.

“There’s a huge significance that it’s a standalone women’s event,” she said.

“I’m proud to be attached to it and hopefully events like this say to young girls that they can get on a bike, and to women that ‘this world is ours, we’re competitive and we can race just as hard as the men’.

“It should really give a chance to showcase Scotland and some gorgeous scenery,” she said. “Most years I end up missing the Scotland National Road Race so it will be a privilege to be on these roads.

“There are lots of nice moments that may not be globally iconic but to me will feel very special,” she added.

If there was one race last year where the Neutral Service car was most needed it had to be Strade Bianche. The rain turned the chalk roads to sludge and things quickly got interesting.

Take a look behind the scenes with the unsung heroes of the pro peloton.

Missed this Belgian semi-classic earlier in the week? Grab a quick cuppa and catch up with the racing.

How is anyone going to beat QuickStep this year?

Virtual reality vs reality – Tower Bridge, London both this Am @GoZwift pic.twitter.com/jSKUDuKPpo

— Rory McCarron (@CyclingLawLDN) March 7, 201

It might get a bit lonely in there. Eventually

Nice riding, or should that be ‘sick edit’?

Olympic champion Callum Skinner has announced his retirement from elite cycling at the age of 26 – though he plans to remain involved in the sport by working with British Cycling “make the athlete experience more human.”

Two years ago in Rio, Skinner helped Team GB retain its team sprint Olympic title, and also took silver in the individual sprint, won by team mate Jason Kenny.

In a post on his blog today, the Scot said: “Cycling has been very good to me, I’ve made lifelong friends and realised my dream for which I am eternally privileged.

“I appreciate that 26 might seem to many quite young to be transitioning away from the track, but I have never considered myself just an athlete; I consider myself far more than that.”

He continued: “I’m looking for a new challenge, my next Olympics. I want to build on the skills and perspective I’ve learnt and gained as a competitor over the last few years, and go on to greater things.

“As some of you will know, I’m particularly passionate about giving back to sport, using my profile for good, whether that’s in supporting the long overdue reform of sports governance, LGBT rights and encouraging people to get on their bikes.”

Last August, Skinner announced that he was taking an extended break from cycling, saying that he lacked motivation, although today he revealed that his hiatus from the sport was due to a deterioration in his health.

> Olympic champion Callum Skinner taking break from cycling 

“This has proved to be a very challenging time,” he said. “Through seeking help outside the programme, and by the unswerving support of my friends, family and agent, I have made incredible progress and I’m pleased to say have almost fully recovered.”

As for his future role, he said: “My focus and effort now lies in working in partnership with British Cycling to continue to make the athlete experience more human whilst still maintaining that performance mindset. These two essential aspects are not mutually exclusive of each other.

“Overall, I have had an amazing time at British Cycling and would like to thank my current and former coaches, performance support staff and team mates for an amazing and unforgettable ten years,” he added. “I wish them every success going forward.”

Interesting vid from the US insurance industry backed Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) showing their testing of pedestrian detection/auto braking systems on a number of small and luxury SUVs from different manufacturers in simulations of typical incidents in which cars collide with pedestrians. Two of the cars, the 2019 versions of the Toyota RAV 4 and Subaru Forester managed to avoid collisions in all scenarios and only one failed the test entirely – BMW’s X1 which comes equipped with the company’s Daytime Pedestrian Detection system, and which the IIHS noted “didn’t brake at all in the 37 mph parallel adult scenario. The luxury SUV had minimal to no speed reductions in the other tests.” More work needed there then.

When we reported yesterday that Porn Pedallers Cycling Club had seen its licence revoked by British Cycling due to infringing UCI rules, we suspected it wouldn’t be long before the mainstream media took up the case.

However, chapeau to the sub-editors of Fleet Street (well … the Baby Shard, Kensington High Street and elsewhere) for some totally puntastic headlines today.