Welcome to your Wednesday live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Peloton (who threatened to sue cycling fan over trademark) sued for copyright breach, bike shop staff assaulted in Brompton theft, people protected bike lane vid, nasty crash at Nokere Koerse + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Wed, Mar 20, 2019 19:23
SUMMARY
20 March 2019, 19:23
Royal Mail e-trikes are on the road
We’re working with industry to reduce road danger, congestion and air pollution whilst keeping goods moving in London
A pioneering trial of zero emission e-trikes by @RoyalMail could reduce the number of vans on London’s streets and help to clean up the capital’s toxic air pic.twitter.com/vSTMLI0KC0
— Transport for London (@TfL) March 19, 2019
Eight have been deployed across three cities, and if successful Royal Mail will extend the scheme. Read more on eBikeTips.
20 March 2019, 19:23
It's officially the first day of spring...
…so what are you waiting for, get on yer bikes and ride!
20 March 2019, 19:23
Dvid Millar defends INEOS sponsorship, but cycling world is still divided on the ethics
This is the best news professional cycling could have right now – if they’d shut down it would’ve been back to the dark ages – and chapeau on losing the biggest sponsor in professional cycling and replacing it with the biggest sponsor in professional cycling @franmillar et al https://t.co/efqVMjzq0W
— David Millar (@millarmind) March 19, 2019
Millar says cycling would “return to the dark ages” if its biggest team ceased to exist, and congratulated them for scooping such a big sponsorship deal; however many commentators on social media can’t get over the irony of the team being backed by a chemicals company, especially as Team Sky back the Ocean Rescue movement that advocates a reduction in plastic waste. What do you think?
So Team Sky becomes Team Ineos now. Changing bad publicity to worse publicity, the controversial team is now financially supported by a petrochemical company owned by a Brexiteer, living in Monaco. You can’t script this. https://t.co/UjdqYpWbuS
— Roy (@RoyagonInfinity) March 19, 2019
BBC News – @TeamSky set to name new sponsor as (fracking company) #Ineos owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe
This is such a bad decision
They really haven’t thought this through, have they?!https://t.co/Xz4yaf7OUc
— Craig Bennett (@CraigBennett3) March 18, 2019
“Fossil fuel pollution=largest killer of people cycling”
It’s hard to imagine a less appropriate owner of a cycling team than @INEOS. Air pollution, a lorry fleet. It’s like Katie Hopkins sponsoring the Refugee World Cup. https://t.co/wbXtYCpVMJ
— Simon Whitmore (@betterberunning) March 19, 2019
20 March 2019, 19:23
Still going strong...
“My Shimano cycling shoes are 27 years old. That’s right, I got them in 1992, trained for a year, did several years of triathlon (Olympic distance) while training 6 days a week, and have ridden three times a week since then.
Thanks to Aaron Burns for sharing this photo with us! pic.twitter.com/wN9xLqsIbJ
— RideShimano (@RideShimano) March 19, 2019
It seems Shimano’s triathlon shoes from the early 90’s were certainly built to last… if you like your shoes to look a little fresher then why not consider your choices by perusing our guide to performance road shoes.
20 March 2019, 19:23
Liam's head is 4,928 Skittle-sized
Hexo Helmets came into the office a few weeks ago to scan Liam’s head for one of their new 3D printed helmets which is coming in for testing.
The results are in and his head has a volume of 4,928 Skittles (that’s 308 fun-sized bags), a weight of 5.421kg (full of good ideas) and a roundness index of 1.2, whatever that means.
You can find out more here – hexohelmets.com
20 March 2019, 19:23
Toughest bike race in the World? Mike Cuming explains how he "obliged" after rider asked him to warm his hands during comfort break
It may not be the best-known race on the calendar but the Tour of Normandie certainly has some of the best stories from those tough enough to take it on.
Madison Genesis riders have been sharing their stories ahead of this year’s edition of the race and without doubt, the highlight comes from Mike Cuming:
If you want to check out tales from some other riders then you can read the whole thing here: https://www.madisongenesis.co.uk/tour-de-normandie-the-world-s-toughest-bike-race
Now, where is that meme about cyclists being tougher than footballers again??
20 March 2019, 19:23
Team Sky jerseys = vintage MAMIL
Spare a thought for the designers at @CastelliCycling today. They’ve come up with the best Sky kit since the team was launched 9 years ago… and it’s not going to worn outside Richmond Park from 1 May.
— Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) March 19, 2019
20 March 2019, 19:23
Staff assaulted as thieves steal Brompton from London bike shop
20 March 2019, 19:23
Video: Take a look at yesterday's people protected bike lane on London's Old Street
Yesterday, campaigners from Cycle Islington and Active Travel Now formed a people protected bike lane on London’s Old Street calling for it to be made safer for cyclists – with Islington Council confirming only on Monday its plans to reduce the danger posed by motor vehicles, but work not beginning until 2021.
Our news editor Simon MacMichael went along yesterday and rode through the people protected bike lane, together with miniature schnauzer Elodie in the basket of their Elephant Bike – the sight of all that hi-vis making her a little bit excited, as you can hear.
Make the lane – #MakeTheLane pic.twitter.com/1jFPT2qXiZ
— filter more streets (@iambrianjones) March 20, 2019
And here’s what it looked like from their point of view – thanks to Sean Howes of Cycle Islington for the action camera loan.
20 March 2019, 19:23
The fastest bike for an hour?
This is the bike of Victor Campenaerts who is taking on the hour record next month.
The Ridley track frame is paired with double Campagnolo Ghibli Pista wheels, Vittoria tyres and what looks to be a 3D printed cockpit.
The gear looks huge so it’ll be interesting to see what setup he uses in the thin air at the Aguascalientes velodrome in Mexico. Campenaerts is currently on fine form having just won the TT at Tirreno-Adriatico.
The question is, can he beat the 54.526km set by Wiggins in 2015? Time will tell.
20 March 2019, 19:23
Thank god Eddie's wearing a helmet (to prevent damage to the tarmac)
Hopefully no drivers will take issue with 2018’s world’s strongest man Eddie Hall commandeering the road either, they will most likely come off worse! Hall was an elite swimmer before he started competing in strongman, but looks like he now turns to cycling when he needs to shift some pounds.
20 March 2019, 19:23
Nasty Crash in Nokere Koerse Sprint Finish
Chaos on the #NokereKoerse cobbles as Cees Bol takes a much-needed victory for @TeamSunweb pic.twitter.com/I7TtA1niXp
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) March 20, 2019
Today’s race in Belgium, that ends with an uphill cobbled sprint to the line ended with several riders hitting the cobbles hard.
Mathieu van der Poel looked to be in the worst state with concerned teammates staying with him before he was loaded into an ambulance. It wasn’t the ideal start to his cobbled campaign, but thankfully initial reports suggest there are no broken bones.
The other riders that came down included Trek-Segafredo’s Matteo Moschetti who has a badly pulled calf while Floris Gerts was taken away in a neck brace.
20 March 2019, 19:23
Whodathunkit?
Building cycling infrastructure in “Building cycling infrastructure gets more people cycling” shock https://t.co/XfINuAHcNA
— Mark Treasure (@AsEasyAsRiding) March 20, 2019
20 March 2019, 19:23
Peloton, who threatened to sue cycling fan over trademark ... get sued for $150m over breaching copyright
The at-home cycling studio brand’s intellectual property lawyers must be trousering lots of the green folding stuff at the moment …
— Sherine (@SherineUnk) March 20, 2019
Twitter user @Trudgin spotted the inconsistency …
Are these the dudes that tried to trademark the word “Peloton”? You’d have thought they understood copyright?
— Trudgin (@Trudgin) March 20, 2019
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Jack is group editor across road.cc, off.road.cc and ebiketips, overseeing all three sites in the F-At Digital group to make sure everything’s up to scratch. He’s been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of road.cc including tech, news and video, and also contributed to ebiketips before being named editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town, and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master’s degree in print journalism, and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it’s a long story).
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Latest Comments
Paul J 11 minutes ago
If we don't fight it now, we'll all end up forced to wear baggy shorts!
kinderje 1 hour ago
@Rendel Harris Agree, I am baffled that the 84 year old who is now banned from driving for year can then start driving again without a retest. We should be re-tested regularly.
Rendel Harris 3 hours ago
@mitsky Just checking the figures and apparently the 2026 average cost is £58,000 per year per prisoner; worth noting that is only the direct cost, you then have to factor in ten years of lost tax income from the prisoner, ten years that the prisoner is making no contribution to society as a worker or as a consumer, plus the fact that if they were the primary breadwinner very likely the costs will include benefits for their family as well. None of which should be a reason for keeping violent recidivists out of prison of course, nor drug/drink drivers who kill, but it is a factor worth considering for lower-level offences.
Rendel Harris 3 hours ago
@Surreyrider I ride in Surrey a fair bit and absolutely many do look like that but the point is they all *think* they're driving perfectly reasonably (as one discovers when remonstrating with someone who's skimmed one by 30cm, "I gave you masses of room") so deterrent penalties have little effect. That's why we need to strike at the root cause and actually train drivers properly and test them stringently (and more than once over the course of a potential 70+ years of driving, it's absolutely absurd that competence and knowledge in what for most people is the activity in their life that will run the biggest risk of killing people you never have to have your qualifications renewed).
Rendel Harris 3 hours ago
@mitsky Imprisonment currently costs over £50k p.a. per prisoner and obviously that will rise over the course of a ten-year stretch with inflation. Regarding culpability and mitigating sentences etc, of course I'm not against condign punishment for drivers who kill (and cyclists on the tiny, tiny handful of occasions when this happens), including prison as appropriate; I was objecting to the ridiculous and oft-repeated demand of MM that drivers who kill cyclists must get ten years, "no excuses, no exceptions".
Blackthorne83 7 hours ago
Hey, but their wool blend cycling adjacent t-shirts are/were fantastic.
RoadYeti 7 hours ago
@Surreyrider Still the boss. Ride one, you'll see why
chrisonabike 11 hours ago
@Smoggysteve "Most would happily ride on the roads and be treated with respect by drivers". But people aren't - and as far as I can see they won't be. Not until there is a lot less driving and it's slower around cyclists, and far more people driving have "skin in the game" eg. they sometimes cycle and their friends and family do also. That's what leads to the model - which is perhaps most advanced in NL - where cycling, walking and driving are all seen as separate normal transport modes. Their needs, vulnerabilities and any dangers to others are considered. And *that* leads to "mix / share when possible, separate when necessary". But "possible" is "where your 10-year old would be safe to cycle unsupervised" - so very few motor vehicles, going slow! And AFAICS everybody - even "existing cyclists" - is happy with the result. (I dunno about a few pro cyclists - but don't they tend to have training camps in different counties anyway?)
chrisonabike 11 hours ago
@quiff as an Edinburgh resident I can confidently say he's speaking without moving his lips in one sense: - while as I noted in a separate comment there *is* now some real separated cycle infra, all the examples i can think of have *at least as much space* for pedestrians. The rest of the "cycle infra" is essentially similar to the situation in the rest of the UK: eg. bus lanes*, cycle lanes and shared use paths (eg. "build" infra by sticking up a sign). Edinburgh is one of the places with a moderately extensive network of former railways which have been converted to "shared use" paths (completely motor traffic few). However though shared they are not narrow by UK standards. And this is all effectively a "free extra" for all non- motorised users, not like the "sign a cycle path" where pedestrians do lose space. I think this all comes from the "popular understanding" of cycling in which ultimately cyclists are the "other". They don't fit "motor vehicle" or "pedestrian" (including wheelchairs on the very rare occasions people think about that). Thus "cyclists are cheating" in multiple ways! They shouldn't get their own space as "there aren't enough" of them. And "they can just use the road / path". But being able to *choose* "on the road" or "on the footway" (shared use path) is clearly unfair - nobody else gets to do that! BUT of course even if they did pick just one of road OR pedestrian space it's still not fair anyway because they're "too slow" for the road (don't pay "road tax" etc...) and "far too fast" for pedestrians... * Though some existing cyclists may appreciate them when there are few buses, buses and bikes are a very poor mix for several reasons.
mikecassie 11 hours ago
Whilst a shame for any employees, their bib shorts had the worst chamois pad I’d ever encountered, utter waste of my money. Even though they were Strava challenge discount purchases, still a waste of money.
6 thoughts on “Live blog: Peloton (who threatened to sue cycling fan over trademark) sued for copyright breach, bike shop staff assaulted in Brompton theft, people protected bike lane vid, nasty crash at Nokere Koerse + more”
Congratulations to Team Ineos
Congratulations to Team Ineos, I wish it well representing Monaco, with the best riders from Monaco and now a local owner too. I just wish we had something similar in the UK.
@ madison genises……..
@ madison genesis………seriously dudes its not hard or tough to piss on someones hands.Buy your riders some decent gloves.
john1967 wrote:
either that or design the domestiques’ bib shorts with a rear flap so the lead rider can at least stick his cold hands between their butt-cheeks.
Eddie Hall,
Eddie Hall,
doing his bit to make car drivers hate us even more…
PP
Eddie Hall,
Eddie Hall,
doing his bit to make car drivers hate us even more…
PP
Who’s going to tell that
Who’s going to tell that Eddie Hall that he’s a woos for riding an ebike?? A beast indeed!