Welcome to Wednesday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Team Ineos to debut at Tour de Romandie in one-off kit; Wiggo does classy; Women’s Paris Roubaix – World champ Anna van der Breggen makes the case, Near miss* – the pro race edition; Happy hour – the drinks are on Victor + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Wed, Apr 17, 2019 17:34
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SUMMARY
17 April 2019, 17:34
Specialized makes compelling case for Women's Paris-Roubaix
At the launch of its latest Roubaix model last week, US bike brand Specialized also unveiled a women’s version of the bike – and in a video (see above) enlisted the help of world champion Anna van der Breggen and her Boels-Dolmans team mates Christian Majures and Chantal Blaak to make a compelling case for why there should be a women’s version of the race, showing the trio riding through the Arenberg sector of pavé.
As Specialized says at the end of the video, “The Roubaix is no longer just for men. The race shouldn’t be either.”
There are already under-23 and junior versions of the race for male riders – so why not one for elite women too? What do you think?
17 April 2019, 17:34
Don't worry Victor, we still remember
Victor Campenaerts has gone to great lengths to not be remembered as “that bloke who asked a girl out with a chest message in a time-trial.” pic.twitter.com/8qi8aPXpGg
— Andy McGrath (@Andymcgra) April 16, 2019
Campenaerts’ heroics in the velodrome yesterday may have almost banished the memories of when he asked a girl out on a date at the end of a Giro d’Italia time trial by displaying the request on his chest, for which he was fined 100 euros… but fear not, here’s the story from 2017 just in case you’d forgotten!
17 April 2019, 17:34
"Free beer all night long": Campenaerts plans to treat his fans to celebrate Hour Record success
Skip to 1:26:45-ish in the live stream, and Victor appears to offer a free night’s drinking at his local bar back in Antwerp, Cafe Mombasa in the district of Borgerhout. He says: “In Borgerhout, at my fan cafe (Cafe Mombasa) all my fans can drink free beer all night. And if you’re not a fan, you an still become a fan! All night, free beer. Enjoy.”
We might have to make a pilgrimage. If you want to read the full report of how Campenaerts smashed the record click here, to see his history-making bike in more detail head here.
17 April 2019, 17:34
David rides new Specialized Roubaix 2020
David has just got back from Belgium where he’s been riding the brand new 2020 Specialized S-Works Roubaix on the cobbled roads it was designed to tame and conquer, check out his first ride impressions in the video below. If you missed the launch fanfare, here’s everything you need to know about the new Roubaix.
17 April 2019, 17:34
Calorie counting for easter weekend
We hot cross buns! So here’s a tasty fact of the day: One hot cross bun will give you fuel for 22 minutes of cycling. Yum! pic.twitter.com/0A2ehihWS8
— Sustrans (@sustrans) April 17, 2019
How much to burn off a couple of easter eggs as well?
17 April 2019, 17:34
Watch how Giovanni Battaglin builds a steel frame
Giovanni Battaglin, winner of the Giro and Vuelta in 1981, turned his attention to building bikes the following year, and is still going strong today. In a new video series the Italian company is allowing you to go behind-the-scenes to see how a frame is made from start to finish. See more here.
17 April 2019, 17:34
Classy from Sir Brad
Chapeau Victor my man
— Brad Wiggins (@SirWiggo) April 16, 2019
Many are asking the question of how much advantage was gained by Campenaerts breaking the Hour Record at 1,800m of altitude – but Bradley Wiggins has suggested in his podcast (and in this tweet) that he has nothing but praise for his successor. What would Campenaerts have done at sea level? We might never know, but will try to investigate with some expert help over the next few days.
17 April 2019, 17:34
Team Ineos to make ddebut at Tour de Romandie on 30 April - in one-off jersey
Team Ineos will make their debut at the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland on 30 April – and will be wearing a one-off jersey, according to organisers of the Swiss race.
The takeover of Team Sky’s management company, and sponsorship, by the petrochemicals group is due to take effect from 1 May and it had been announced that the new kit would be unveiled at the Tour de Yorkshire, where Chris Froome is racing.
In a tweet, however, organisers of the Tour de Romandie confirmed that Geraint Thomas and co will race for the first time as Team Ineos in the race, which runs from 30 April to 5 May.
The tweet reads: “Breaking news. Team Sky will take to tthe start of the #TDR2019 in the colours of Ineos. A unique jersey that you will only see on the #TDR2019!”
They also tweeted an image of the jersey as part of the provisional start list, as shown in the image above.
@TeamSky prendra le départ du #TDR2019 sous les couleurs d’ @INEOS. Un maillot unique que l’on ne verra que sur le #TDR2019!
— Tour de Romandie (@TourDeRomandie) April 17, 2019
17 April 2019, 17:34
Sam Bennett doubles up at Tour of Turkey
Double trouble!
@Sammmy_Be takes another amazing stage win while teammate @gro_felix finishes second!! #teamworkmakesthedreamwork amazing teamwork! pic.twitter.com/vSBU2HEGDL— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) April 17, 2019
The Irishman has taken both of the opening stages at the Presidential Tour of Turkey, winning an uphill sprint finish on day two. The comeback from illness for Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) isn’t going to plan at the moment, finishing 22nd on stage 1 and 94th today.
17 April 2019, 17:34
Near Miss: Pro edition
It’s hard enough to get in a breakaway as it is. It’s even harder when the race motorbikes get involved.
Luckily Liane Lippert has good bike handling skills.
When you’re trying to escape from the peleton but the motor driver doesn’t like you #BPwomen #BP #BP19 pic.twitter.com/aGkfUIkUY2
— Jesse Abeloos (@JesseAbeloos) April 17, 2019
*interestingly since we posted this earlier today the tweet and accompanying video off the moto veering in to Liane Lippert’s path has been taken down.
17 April 2019, 17:34
Specialized makes compelling case for Women's Paris-Roubaix
At the launch of its latest Roubaix model last week, US bike brand Specialized also unveiled a women’s version of the bike – and in a video (see above) enlisted the help of world champion Anna van der Breggen and her Boels-Dolmans team mates Christian Majures and Chantal Blaak to make a compelling case for why there should be a women’s version of the race, showing the trio riding through the Arenberg sector of pavé.
As Specialized says at the end of the video, “The Roubaix is no longer just for men. The race shouldn’t be either.”
There are already under-23 and junior versions of the race for male riders – so why not one for elite women too? What do you think?
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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
Clem Fandango 19 minutes ago
So long as we have speed limits & culpability for ignoring "traffic signals" & the like (looking at you Gove) for pedestrians & horse riders too - might as well get ahead on things whilst we're at it & future proof this essential legislation before someone gets killed by one of them. Whilst we're at it, pedestrians should have registration numbers tattoed to their foreheads, be forced to wear hi-viz whenever outdoors & pay "road tax" to cover the cost of all that incredibly well designed (cough cough) pedestrian infrastructure that is clearly part of the "war on drivers," as well as the street lighting that the free loading swines take advantage of on a daily basis.
ziadvanbeek 34 minutes ago
@Motivated When I look at the Mur de Huy segment on Strava I see the top male is at 3'4" while the top woman is at 3'48", which would land her 130th position in the men's. Very fast indeed but not that close.
StuInNorway 55 minutes ago
So again we have one of those rare, tragic, cases where a cyclist and pedestrian collide and the pedestrian dies as a result. Again we have a case of a pedestrian who stepped out in front of a moving vehicle without looking properly, giving the cyclist little to no chance to avoid them, much like the Charlie Anniston case (although his biek was illegal, tests by Police showed even on a normal bike with good brakes he probably couldn't have avoided the collision), also the case in South London, where a pedestrian ran across on a red man, and a cyclist hit them, (Here the cyclist absolutely should have been prosecuted for the illegal spec e-bike and failing to stop, but the pedestrian ran into the SIDE of his front wheel as shown on CCTV from a shop beside the road) Now we have an elderly woman who has stepped out directly ahead of not one, but a group of cyclists. When did we last hear calls to change the laws for drivers when someone stepped out so close in front of a car that the driver had no chance to avoid them ?
Oldfatgit 1 hour ago
Maybe, the authorities should work on a way to make drivers of motor vehicles obey speed limits. Although, I suppose that if she'd been hit by a car doing that speed, she'd likely to have been killed outright.
mdavidford 2 hours ago
@Smoggysteve They're at their most dangerous when they're not going anywhere at all.
mctrials23 2 hours ago
@the infamous grouse Oh very few people adhere to 20 limits. I would suggest that its considerably less that adhere to 20mph than when the limit is 30 but then the breaking of the limit is still less serious. They are doing 24-25 instead of 34-35 so regardless, the damage is lessened. I lived on a classic UK residential side road ie. not a road to anywhere useful and despite it being a 20 with cars parked on both sides and dense housing, the same utter pricks would do 30-40 down it. Boiled my blood.
Motivated 2 hours ago
My point is that we can discuss various aspects about women's sport and that increases the reach. On the topic of comparison ... many friends I talk to about cycling assume that women are slow and that's way they don't watch. I think I've convinced some people to tune in by giving examples of how strong they are *and* how entertaining the races are. I was at the Women's Fleche Wallone (and LBL) and saw Demi win ... that's why I used that example of the Mur du Huy. To your reply ... I would say that your view of stifling discussion won't help sell women in sport - case in point is the headline quote from Sarah Ruggins. My understanding of your reply is that you would disagree with a woman who's out there literally selling the sport to her sponsors and her awesome achievements as being newsworthy material for this site. Regarding your choice of word 'amalgamation' ... it implies I proposed to mix Men's and Women's sport. I don't believe that and did not write that. I think we are all fans here!
Pub bike 3 hours ago
@mitsky The police allegedly have better things to with their time than ignore millions of speeding reports. Why even allow the car to exceed the speed limit in the first place? For context: "under UK law, all new cars manufactured since July 2024 must be fitted with Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) systems. These systems use cameras and GPS to detect the speed limit and will trigger an audio, visual, or haptic alarm when you exceed it. While these alarms can be temporarily turned off via the infotainment screen or steering wheel buttons, the system automatically resets and turns back on every time you start the car. "
Xenophon2 3 hours ago
Anything that improves safety is a plus. Whether it will make a real difference is another matter: it's not because the system correctly detects a dangerous situation that you'll be able to do anything about it, or that you'll have the time to react, such as with a parked car opening a door without looking (keeping your distance is still the best strategy there). It's a bit like my Garmin Vario rear light: 90% of the time the radar adds nothing, 10% of the time what it displays is really helpful and I guess that once every couple of years or so it might really make the difference between nothing happening or an accident. Still worth it imo.
Xenophon2 3 hours ago
An incredible feat, hat off to her!