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Live blog: Adam Yates misses Tirreno-Adriatico win by less than a second, Ineos accused of "greenwashing" over Team Sky deal, Bike shop assistant 'mansplains' clipless pedals to Olympic cyclist + more

All today's news from the site and beyond.....
19 March 2019, 19:27
Adam Yates misses out on Tirreno win by less than a second

Adam Yates has missed out on becoming the first British winner of Tirrreno-Adriatico by less than a second.

The Mitchelton-Scott rider, whose twin brother Simon won last year’s Vuelta, went into today’s closing individual time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto with a 25-second advantage over Jumbo-Visma’s Primoz Roglic.

The Slovenian former ski jumper, silver medallist in the time trial at the road world championships at Bergen in 2017, was widely tipped to overhaul the deficit today.

But he cut it fine, winning the week-long Italian race by just 0.31 of a second, with Yates finishing second overall and Astana’s Jakob Fuglsang half a minute back in third place.

Today’s stage was won by the Lotto-Soudal rider Victor Campenaerts the reigning European time trial champion.

19 March 2019, 17:04
royal mail etrike, credit Will Norman on twitter
Royal Mail roll out e-trike pilot scheme

Selected postal workers across London, Cambridge and Birmingham were today supplied with specially-designed e-trikes with a huge load capacity to deliver their mail. More over on eBiketips

19 March 2019, 14:52
Now we know why...

The prof hasn't exactly been glowing in his thoughts on cyclists as of late, calling for bike commuters to be taxed and insured - but if this comment from a Guardian thread is true, maybe he's just really got a bee in his bonnet about this incident last year...

19 March 2019, 13:09
Ineos Grangemouth petrochemical plant (licensed CC BY-SA 2.0 on Wikimedia Commons by Paul McIlroy)
“Planet wrecking” Ineos accused of “greenwashing” over Team Sky sponsorship

Ahead of today’s expected announcement that Ineos will sponsor Team Sky from next year, the petrochemicals business and its founder and controlling shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe have been accused of a “blatant attempt at greenwashing” by environmental campaigners.

At last year’s Tour de France, the team’s jerseys promoted the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign, which aims to clear plastic pollution from the seas, and when the broadcaster announced last December that it was ending its sponsorship after this season, one of the reasons given was that it wanted focus on that initiative.

In recent days as it has become clear that the Ineos deal is all but finalised, it hasn’t gone unnoticed on social media that the new sponsor, Britain’s biggest private company, is a major manufacturer of plastics.

Today, Tony Bosworth, fossil free campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “Taking over Team Sky is the latest blatant attempt at greenwashing by Ineos.

“It’s a harsh change of tone that may see Sky’s Ocean Rescue campaign to clear plastic pollution from our oceans ditched from the team jersey in favour of Ineos – one of the biggest plastic producers in Europe.

"This is also a company that wants to frack large swathes of northern England and the East Midlands. Ineos has also been lobbying hard for the government to relax safety rules so fracking companies can trigger larger earthquakes before having to down tools,” he added.

“Cycling is one the UK’s most successful and popular sports, but do the likes of Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome really want to be associated with a planet-wrecking company like Ineos?”

19 March 2019, 11:44
Shop assistant thinks he's offering helpful advice to woman on switching to clipless pedals... who happens to be an Olympian

We may have a tad bit of sympathy for the shop assistant who obviously wasn't to know. As is evident from Mara Abbott's further replies on the Twitter thread, he was taken down a peg or ten when she explained that she knew quite a bit about clipless pedals already...

19 March 2019, 12:21
You know a climb's serious when...

We're not totally sure if this was a mechanical or not at the Tirreno Adriatico that started the madness that eventually followed... 

19 March 2019, 11:20
Seeking the Grail? You'll have to wait a while...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yep, we went there... #holygrail #canyon #canyongrail #montypython

A post shared by road.cc (@road.cc) on

Although you won't have to cross the bridge of death or defeat a Black Knight by severing all his limbs to get to one, as we understand it you will have to hold on until at least summer to receive the new model of the Canyon Grail with a standard drop bar (the carbon model shown in our hilarious pic above has the 'hoverbar') in some sizes. off.road.cc reviewed the 105 version recently and you're looking at mid-July to get one in size small or bigger, and the £1,449 SRAM Rival bike isn't shipping until October in medium-sized frames. Good things come to those who wait and all that... 

19 March 2019, 11:01
ceramicspeed sram dub
CeramicSpeed launch SRAM DUB-compatible bottom bracket series for road and off-road, and you might have to save up...

If the price of the new SRAM AXS 12 speed groupset isn't enough for you, luckily you can now accessorise it with CeramicSpeed's £332 SRAM DUB-compatible bottom bracket. It's built on a 28.99mm spindle which CeramicSpeed say allows for a more contamination-resistant design while retaining the efficiency the brand's bearings are renowned for. There are also options for Italian threaded BB's, which will please rich Pinarello owners. Head over to CeramicSpeed's website for buying options after you've remortgaged.  

19 March 2019, 08:36
10-year-old Ruby Isaac will ride the Stelvio in aid of World Bicycle Relief

You may recognise Ruby from various videos on social media in which we've seen her flipping panackes on rollers, shooting basketball hoops on rollers and just being generally impressive... well now she's taking to the road to raise money for World Bicycle Relief. Ruby will ride the iconic Stelvio climb as part of the Granfondo Stelvio event on May 31st, and is aming to raise enough money to buy at least ten Buffalo bikes (durable steel bikes with lots of load-carrying ability) for people in some of the world's poorest areas. Each bike costs around £95. If you want to donate, the JustGiving page link is here. You can also follow Ruby on Instagram to chart her progress and see more badass roller tricks. 

19 March 2019, 08:46
Yamaha launch the Wabash gravel e-bike

The Wabash is a ground-up design effort from Yamaha, and looks to be US-only at the moment. More on this later via eBikeTips

19 March 2019, 08:28
Serious crash in Northolt, Ealing as cyclist and car involved in collision

The crash happened evening and the cyclist is believed to be in his 60's. It's been reported that the cyclist has possible life-threatening injuries, but there have been no further updates as to his condition this morning. No arrests have been made. 

Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

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20 comments

Avatar
Butty | 5 years ago
1 like

Surely an Olympian expert would know not to pedal through corners and take chunks out of their cage pedals?

Avatar
shay cycles replied to Butty | 5 years ago
2 likes

Butty wrote:

Surely an Olympian expert would know not to pedal through corners and take chunks out of their cage pedals?

 

Of course not. Every half decent racing cyclist has an urge to push things a bit; thats what racing is about. If you can pedal through a corner (or anywhere else) it is quicker than freewheeling and as long as you don't bash it hard enough to bounce a wheel and lose traction it is no big deal. Before everyone moved to clipless pedals (which generally have more ground clearence and thus allow more pedalling through corners) any half decent road racing cyclist would have taken chunks out of their pedals on corners. A look around the bikes ridden by the pros in town centre crits revealed that they were pretty heavily used and most would have pdeal scrapes from hard cornering.

Some bike shops stocked extra left side Campag end caps because dragging the left one on the ground could cause it to unscrew and lots were lost that way.

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Woldsman | 5 years ago
0 likes

janusz0 wrote:

"Cages"? I presume that this is youth-speak for toe-clips? 

I’m not sure.  When I first used pedals with clips and toe straps they were sometimes referred to as ‘rat traps’.  Reading this story I assumed  ‘pedals with cages’ just meant ‘caged pedals’ rather than those with toe clips. Halfords would appear to agree, but dunno really... 

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/pedals-pegs/halfords-caged-a...

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fukawitribe | 5 years ago
0 likes

Right, well, I guess all of you having woodies over spuds can nip over to Mara's feed and let her know then..

Avatar
Luca Patrono | 5 years ago
1 like

I've received a similar comment about the merits of SPD vs flats and cages at the LBS. No proof that was mansplaining, and I didn't see the Olympian allege it, but I guess scare quoting mansplaining gets more hits. If anything it looks like pomposity over being an Olympian...

Avatar
Drinfinity | 5 years ago
0 likes

For town I doubt the cages are strapped down to track tightness, they would be fine on a good brogue, and yes I was thinking of MTB flats with shin-eating studs on. 

Avatar
John Smith replied to Drinfinity | 5 years ago
0 likes

Drinfinity wrote:

For town I doubt the cages are strapped down to track tightness, they would be fine on a good brogue, and yes I was thinking of MTB flats with shin-eating studs on. 

 

If your not going to do them up tight then surely there’s no point in them over flats?

Avatar
janusz0 replied to John Smith | 5 years ago
2 likes

John Smith wrote:

Drinfinity wrote:

For town I doubt the cages are strapped down to track tightness, they would be fine on a good brogue, and yes I was thinking of MTB flats with shin-eating studs on. 

If your not going to do them up tight then surely there’s no point in them over flats?

"Cages"? I presume that this is youth-speak for toe-clips?  Y'know, it's the reason why you call modern pedals clipless even though your cleats are clipped in?

@John Smith: Riding with loose toe straps allows you to get a foot down quickly yet stops you slipping off the pedal when honking. 

Avatar
John Smith | 5 years ago
0 likes

Wouldn’t cages ruin any decent shoes if they were done up properly? And wouldn’t cages catch on hosiery just as much as flats (assuming that your not comparing to sharply studded MTB flats)?

Avatar
Drinfinity | 5 years ago
2 likes

So you can ride into the office in your work shoes? So you don’t rip your hosiery or shins on the studs on flats?

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red_nick replied to Drinfinity | 5 years ago
4 likes

Drinfinity wrote:

So you can ride into the office in your work shoes? So you don’t rip your hosiery or shins on the studs on flats?

 

I just leave my work shoes at work. Problem solved

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John Smith | 5 years ago
0 likes

Double post

Avatar
John Smith | 5 years ago
1 like

Genuine question, why would someone go for cages over clipless? Reading the twitter feed it’s almost like  some people don’t know SPDs exist. Lots of talk about silly shoes and wanting to walk. I can’t think of any reason to use cages over SPDs, unless you expect to change footwear a lot, which is quite a small use case and reasonable for someone in a shop to assume that someone buying cages might want some advice. It seems more like arrogant elite athlete (something I have been on the receiving end of, both from athletes and other high achievers, for example academics) than mansplaning.

 

I get the reason some people use flats (as I do on some bikes) but I genuinely can’t see why 99.99% of people would go for cages over flats or SPDs. I’d be interested to know if there is an objective reason. Cages seem downright dangerous on a commute, where you stop and start all the time and are in traffic.

Avatar
EddyBerckx replied to John Smith | 5 years ago
0 likes
John Smith wrote:

Genuine question, why would someone go for cages over clipless? Reading the twitter feed it’s almost like  some people don’t know SPDs exist. Lots of talk about silly shoes and wanting to walk. I can’t think of any reason to use cages over SPDs, unless you expect to change footwear a lot, which is quite a small use case and reasonable for someone in a shop to assume that someone buying cages might want some advice. It seems more like arrogant elite athlete (something I have been on the receiving end of, both from athletes and other high achievers, for example academics) than mansplaning.

 

I get the reason some people use flats (as I do on some bikes) but I genuinely can’t see why 99.99% of people would go for cages over flats or SPDs. I’d be interested to know if there is an objective reason. Cages seem downright dangerous on a commute, where you stop and start all the time and are in traffic.

It works for her which is all that matters but for most, I'd have thought either flat pedals or spds would be more appropriate....which is why I think the minimum wage shop assistant was at least half right.

Not read the social media posts on this so maybe I'm misreading something?

Avatar
John Smith replied to EddyBerckx | 5 years ago
2 likes

StoopidUserName wrote:
John Smith wrote:

Genuine question, why would someone go for cages over clipless? Reading the twitter feed it’s almost like  some people don’t know SPDs exist. Lots of talk about silly shoes and wanting to walk. I can’t think of any reason to use cages over SPDs, unless you expect to change footwear a lot, which is quite a small use case and reasonable for someone in a shop to assume that someone buying cages might want some advice. It seems more like arrogant elite athlete (something I have been on the receiving end of, both from athletes and other high achievers, for example academics) than mansplaning.

 

I get the reason some people use flats (as I do on some bikes) but I genuinely can’t see why 99.99% of people would go for cages over flats or SPDs. I’d be interested to know if there is an objective reason. Cages seem downright dangerous on a commute, where you stop and start all the time and are in traffic.

It works for her which is all that matters but for most, I'd have thought either flat pedals or spds would be more appropriate....which is why I think the minimum wage shop assistant was at least half right. Not read the social media posts on this so maybe I'm misreading something?

 

Which is fine, people can use what they want, but there is no reason for her on anyone else to be a dick when a shop assistant assumes that you might want to be pointed to an objectively better choice. All she had to do was say “no thank you. I have tried clipless and prefer cages” rather than spouting off about being an Olympic athlete and claiming he was being sexist. 

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
0 likes

typical pros, instead of simply getting off and walking, they try to kill themselves on the bike, same thing happened in the Tour Britaain in the Lake District a couple of years ago, instead of simply walking at 3mph most were struggling at less than that on the bikes and as it was piddling it down it they were obviously losing traction anyways.

Police admit that car was in collision with cyclist intead of motorist but no arrests made, how very typical of the MET!

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xerxes | 5 years ago
2 likes

Can I have the Canyon Grail in my favourite colour, which is red - no, blue.

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Jetmans Dad | 5 years ago
7 likes

I have clipless pedals on my commuter ... is that why I didn't go to the Olympics?

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EddyBerckx | 5 years ago
9 likes

Mansplaining or just giving advice which he'll probably give regardless of gender (rightly or wrongly)

And she's a bit up her own arse to instantly come out with the Olympian bollox. How about "no I'm an experienced cyclist and know what i want. Thanks anyway" or something less arsey?

Avatar
thelawnet replied to EddyBerckx | 5 years ago
0 likes
StoopidUserName wrote:

Mansplaining or just giving advice which he'll probably give regardless of gender (rightly or wrongly)

And she's a bit up her own arse to instantly come out with the Olympian bollox. How about "no I'm an experienced cyclist and know what i want. Thanks anyway" or something less arsey?

It would be sexist if the bloke didn't give out unsolicited patronising advice to both sexes.

IME as a man shopping in a bike shop, this is not the case.....

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