Welcome to Tuesday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Victor Campenaerts breaks Sir Bradley Wiggins’ UCI Hour record in Mexico as he rides more than 55km, 12-year-old Hannah Killick rides Land’s End to John O’Groats, +more
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Tue, Apr 16, 2019 19:26
SUMMARY
16 April 2019, 19:26
Froome says "Yorkshire and cycling now go hand-in-hand"
Quoted in the Tour de Yorkshire official programme, Froome says: “Having the Tour de France start in Yorkshire obviously got a lot of people out and got a lot of people really excited about cycling.
“And the knock-on effect that it had is just massive, to the extent where Yorkshire and cycling now go hand in hand.”
The Tour de Yorkshire takes place between 2nd-5th May, and as there’s no Giro d’Italia in his plans this year, it’s allowed Froome to make his debut at the event.
16 April 2019, 19:26
If you're going to get hit by a car, you could do worse than America...
According to law.com’s Dail Business Insider, a cyclist who suffered a mild traumatic brain injury at the hands of a Porche Driver negotiated a $6 million settlement for his injuries.
31-year-old Andy Introini was cycling in Miami Beach on 8th November 2017, and was hit as he crossed an intersection. The driver Raymond H. Maroon Jr. allegedly made a high-speed right turn and struck Introini’s bike, sending the cyclist flying onto the windshield before slamming onto the tarmac, where he hit the side of his head. The damages were sought for medical expenses, plus pain and suffering.
16 April 2019, 19:26
Victor Campenaerts makes final prep, with hour record attempt set to go ahead at 16:55 this evening
On his blog for Lotto Soudal posted yesterday, Campenaerts says: “The last days before the Hour Record attempt are not hard to fill. Three weeks ago, I could already have predicted how they would go. That is exactly what gives me peace and confidence. The tough training sessions are over; now it is important to still stimulate the muscles a bit. In terms of nutrition, it is time for carbo-loading, which means eating as many carbohydrates as possible. Fats, fibers and proteins are mostly eliminated, but even for an effort of 60 minutes, my muscles still need to be fully charged, which is at least as important as the Classics riders in Paris-Roubaix. Throughout the day, I have to take ten to twelve grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight to fill my tank. ”
“The moment of truth is getting closer. My body is totally ready for it. Mentally, I am pretty relaxed due to the perfect preparation. My schedule is minutely planned. Meanwhile, my body has completely adapted to the special biorhythm: getting up at 5 o’clock and going to sleep at 8 o’clock is very easy now.”
The attempt is set to take place from 17:55 CEST (16:55 in the UK according to the latest update on the Youtube live stream) and the mark Campenaerts is aiming to surpass is 54.526km, set by Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2015. If you want to clock off early or stay late to watch the pain unfold, the link to the live stream on Youtube is here.
16 April 2019, 19:26
Guess the hour record distance to win a signed jersey
WIN a signed jersey by @VCampenaerts ahead of his #UCIHourRecord attempt at 18:00 CET today!
Retweet this post
Guess the distance he will complete in the comments below!Entries close today at 17:30 CET and we’ll announce the winner who guesses the closest tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/p010kw5LCA
— UCI Track Cycling (@UCI_Track) April 16, 2019
With a retweet of the post above and an accurate guess of the distance Campenaerts will cover, the UCI are also giving someone the chance to win a signed jersey from the man himself. The time now seems to have been changed to 18:00 CEST, although we previously understood it was set to take place ‘from’ 17:30. The UCI Youtube stream is currently showing that it will go live at 4.55pm UK time.
16 April 2019, 19:26
How The Race Was Won: Paris-Roubaix 2019
Want to know exactly how the Deceuninck Quick-Step tactics helped Philippe Gilbert to victory? Cosmo Catalano takes us through the Hell of the North.
16 April 2019, 19:26
Victor is hoping to be top trumps tonight...
Good luck Victor Campenaerts #UCIHourRecord #vocsnor #Victor2VictorY pic.twitter.com/Qdf3OSrdWO
— pro cycling trumps (@procycletrumps) April 16, 2019
16 April 2019, 19:26
"The maximum expression of pain" - Vittoria Bussi tells Bradely Wiggins about her own successful Hour Record attempt last September
The female Hour Record holder sat down to discuss the feat on Eurosport’s Bradley Wiggins Show, and attempted to explain what goes through the mind as you try to hold maximum power for 60 minutes: “You think about everything except cycling. If you think you are pedalling at 48kmp/h, you need to do almost 200 laps – it’s too much. Your mind cannot support that. I just remember the voice of my boyfriend shouting to me the lap time, loud music, because I had a playlist in the velodrome… the sensation of pain in my leg, neck – pain everywhere, actually. Then most obviously the last minute, because [at that point] I understood I was bringing a world record, so it was really: ‘Wow! Exciting!’”
On the pure pain, Bussi says: “Okay, I’m preparing for a world record, so it’s normal that I’ll feel pain. And it’s good if I do, because then I know I’m overriding my limits. So I was searching for pain, actually. It’s a change of perspective. But it really changes your relationship with pain, because you’re searching for him. It’s not him who comes to you and you’re scared… Don’t be scared of pain.”
16 April 2019, 19:26
Extinct Rebellion update: pianists serenade protesters and passers-by, hooked up to speakers powered by bikes
Play piano for the planet! On day 2 of #InternationalRebellion protestors & pedestrians at our #MarbleArch block are being serenaded by pianists. Come on down, it’s beautiful – they’ll be playing into the afternoon. Speakers powered by bikes! pic.twitter.com/fTMaicW5Ip
— Extinction Rebellion (@ExtinctionR) April 16, 2019
It’s day two of the climate protests that have seen Waterloo Bridge, Marble Arch and the area around Oxford Circus closed to motor traffic, with activists placing trees, plants and themselves in the way to make the streets traffic-free for the time being.
16 April 2019, 19:26
Behind the scenes of Katusha-Alpecin's biggest result this year
Nils Politt gave Team Katusha Alpecin the best result of what has been a difficult Classics campaign.
The German rider looked very strong over the cobbles, but couldn’t beat Gilbert in the sprint on the Roubaix velodrome.
16 April 2019, 19:26
Victor Campenaerts UCI Hour Record attampt - watch it LIVE here
Belgium’s victor Campenaerts is attempting to take the UCI Hour record from Sir Bradley Wiggins today – we’ve already had some coverage on the live blog today – and you can watch the livestream from the velodrome in Aguascalientes, Mexico, right here on road.cc (see main picture)>
According to the UCI, the livestream starts at 1655 UK time – but there seems to be some confusion about what time the LottoSoudal rider is starting, so you might want to check half an hour beforehand, or even earlier, if you don’t want to miss it.
16 April 2019, 19:26
12-year-old Hannah Killick completes LEJOG
Arrived!pic.twitter.com/G989hJOJsA
— Hannah 12 cycles LEJOG 2019 (@12_lejog) April 16, 2019
Hannah arrived in John o’ Groats about an hour ago, and has raised over £3,000 ang counting for Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal and United World Schools. Head to her fundraising page here if you want to donate. Chapeau, Hannah!
16 April 2019, 19:26
Campaenaerts is about to begin his attempt
Currently being sprayed with some type of oil on any bits of exposed skin… presumably to make it more slippery. We’re expecting he’ll start any minute now, stream above.
16 April 2019, 19:26
He's off!
The power hour begins.
16 April 2019, 19:26
Victor Campenaerts breaks Sir Braadley Wiggins' UCI Hour record
Victor Campenaerts has set a new UCI Hour record in Aguascalientes, Mexico today, his distance of 55.089 kilometres surpassing the 54.526 kilometres ridden by Sir Bradley Wiggins in London almost four years ago.
Full story to follow.
16 April 2019, 19:26
Victor Campenaerts' UCI World Hour Record setting Ridley Arena bike
The hour record, it’s not about the bike… okay, well maybe a bit. That being the case here’s the piece we ran recently on Victor Campenaerts’ Hour Record setting Ridley Arena TT bike… that go-faster red paint job must have been worth a few extra metres.
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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
chrisonabike 2 hours ago
"All that's required is an to roads policing" - that's a big all... Although no doubt the "idiots just keep coming" aspect does apply: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz9lel2wz93o "Man charged after car crashes through bowling alley" - luckily they only skittled over skittles.
chrisonabike 2 hours ago
Almost any change to roads and streets is accompanied by a period of heightened danger, and in the UK "look out for cyclists" will need to be learned... practically. And over the time it takes for cyclists to become a regular feature. OTOH once (if...) good designs are in and frequent enough such that drivers encounter them AND the cyclists on them regularly (another big if) I don't think they should be much more difficult than a footway to deal with. These things are all over NL - don't have the collision stats but they should. (NL isn't perfect but collecting info on the safety of designs to feed back into better designs as required is part of the "sustainable safety" philosophy - if they're really a killer I think they'd be altering these.)
wtjs 3 hours ago
I'm in the happy position of agreeing with everybody here! I've never considered a bike with a stand, yet I'm impressed by the ingenuity and adaptability of this axle. I tow a Yak Bob with a Robert Axle, employing my El Cheapo Vitus gravel bike and I just have to be very careful where I stop. Hedges are generally a dead loss, and I seek walls, telegraph poles and signposts and generally lean the widest part of the Bob against it. One very awkward task is removing the two steel pins which lock the trailer arms onto the special mounting slots on the Robert axle, and when you have one out, the sodding weight in the trailer can twist the whole caboodle and bend the Bob fitting before you can get the other out and unhitch. I doubt if a stand would help with that. You can imagine that this combo is a real pain when you have to get it over the bridge at railway stations, and it nearly resulted in Merseyrail nearly parting me and the trailer on the platform from the bike on the train. It's a long story for another time. Another axle example recently featured on here, with a 12mm front axle bearing the Herculean weight limit of a monster American front rack.
HoarseMann 5 hours ago
This has nothing to do with the type of bike - it's the type of behaviour that's the problem. Banning the sale of such bikes will not curtail the behaviour. They'll just find another type of vehicle and continue to drive dangerously as there's such a lack of enforcement. I'd sooner see them ban the bally. But really, all that's required is an improvement to roads policing.
AidanR 5 hours ago
The EAPC Bill is welcome, but full of holes. What's to stop an overpowered but temporarily limited e-bike being sold and subsequently delimited? This is often a trivial process.
Sredlums 6 hours ago
@KiwiMike Yeah, in my over four decades of riding all over Europe I've never 'been for a ride in the countryside'. That must be it. Or, and I know this is a wild concept, you just accept that I just voiced my personal experiences and never missed a kickstand, like I wrote. Anyway, what's the big horror of laying your bike on its side for the very few occasions where there is nothing to lean your bike against?
mdavidford 6 hours ago
They may have looked, but did they see?
jackcycles 7 hours ago
Ds2025: where they are going wrong is that they are crushing the motorbike rather than the person sat on top of it. If they did the latter this issue would be solved in less than 24 hours.
Rod Marton 7 hours ago
I came this way today with the car boot sale in operation. There was a marshal at the entrance, who stopped a car turning right across the cycleway as I was approaching. So that certainly works. I think it necessary for the marshal to be there, I couldn't say if the driver would have turned if he hadn't been there but you always have to suspect the worst. Unfortunately there is no marshal at the exit, and there was certainly a car stopped across the cycleway as I was approaching it. But he pulled onto the road before I reached it, and the following car stayed off the cycleway as I went through. Ideally there should have been a marshal there too. On the whole, though, it's a really high standard piece of infrastructure. Just a pity it doesn't extend a bit further.
eburtthebike 7 hours ago
“absolute carnage” So right! Just look at the bodies piled up, blood running in the gutters and injured people limping away. It's a bit of a problem with a road, delaying some people for minutes at a time: it isn't carnage, let alone 'absolute carnage'. Anyone who exaggerates so ridiculously really shouldn't be allowed to comment in public, unless they want to demonstrate their idiocy to all and sundry.
19 thoughts on “Live blog: Victor Campenaerts breaks Sir Bradley Wiggins’ UCI Hour record in Mexico as he rides more than 55km, 12-year-old Hannah Killick rides Land’s End to John O’Groats, +more”
“If you’re going to get hit
“If you’re going to get hit by a car, you could do worse than America…”
I’m sure the rider would rather not have the brain injury than the $6 million, and in the US that probably would go as far you might first think in covering medical bills.
usedtobefaster wrote:
Depends on the brain injury. It does say “minor”, and a mild concussion would be a minor traumatic brain injury, so think a headache and not really with it for a day or two, and then business as usual. I could live with that for $6M…
I was off work with concussion after a prang a few years ago, got a few hundred pounds.
On the other hand, of course, you don’t get to choose quite what the injury is in advance!
https://road.cc/content/news
https://road.cc/content/news/259291-benedict-cumberbatch-slapped-cyclist-he-knocked-bike-while-driving-his
Hmm, $6 million or getting to slap Blortybloop Crimpycrump in the face. That’s a tough one.
dst wrote:
In America, knock a cyclist off and they sue the shirt off your back. In Britain, knock a cyclist over and you get a slap off a big bloke called Scooby, a stern letter from the justice system (if your lucky) and the piss taken out of you on road.cc.
I’d rather cycle in the UK, at least you might get saved from a mugging by celebrity crime fighter Bendydick Stinkysnatch. (Or knocked off depending on Buffalo Custardbath’s mood on the day.)
The attempt is set to take
Er, are you sure? CET is GMT+1, but Europe, like the UK, is currently on daylight savings time and therefore (technically) on CEST (GMT+2), and still one hour ahead of the UK.
jollygoodvelo wrote:
Er, are you sure? CET is GMT+1, but Europe, like the UK, is currently on daylight savings time and therefore (technically) on CEST (GMT+2), and still one hour ahead of the UK.
Apologies there was some confusion there with the timings – some sources said CET time which would be same as UK, but looking at the live stream it definitely is CEST… an hour ahead of the UK. The post has been amended.
Jack Sexty wrote:
No worries – timezones and DST are the bane of my life at work, didn’t want anyone to miss out 🙂
Come on Victor!
Come on Victor!
I’m really excited to see this, oh wait, hang on, as much as the fantastic endeavor it may be, can anyone think of a more boring sport to spectate at other than an hour record?
..(maybe a TT)…
peted76 wrote:
It helps if the commentary is good. I’m hoping we get some live stats from Xavier Disley – https://twitter.com/xavierdisley
If the I won’t be able to watch the whole hour but I’m very interested in how it pans out. I think it helps one already has an interest in/experience of time trialling.
There appears to be a
There appears to be a countdown, and a quick bit of maths suggests 16.55 UK time (BST?)
Well done Victor.
Well done Victor.
55km.
In an hour.
Crumbs
55km.
In an hour.
Crumbs
OK Campernaerts, now break
OK Campernaerts, now break the real hour record at nearly sea level – using altitude is cheating, like using performance improving drugs.
kingleo wrote:
The incumbent did it at sea level, though he did use actual performance-enhancing drugs
kingleo wrote:
If it is so easy at Altitude, how come it took the 5th attempt in Mexico since the last rule changes to do it? And should Campernarts been allowed to use ceramic bearings and specific paint as well? And also the Mercyx ’72 record that was used a big benchmark for the hour was set in Mexico so it is not something new.
kingleo wrote:
I’m sure Campernaerts will be so upset that you think he cheated. Funny, I can’t find anywhere in the UCI rules where it says you must ride at sea-level.
kevvjj wrote:
I doesn’t, but setting at altitude pretty much means everyone else has to as well, meaning it can only be done at limited locations.
They chose that venue because
They chose that venue because its a fast velodrome. The rider still havent broken Boardmans time. All he did was make himself more aero.
CXR94Di2 wrote:
How do you break someone’s time for an hour record?
PP