Live blog: Tao Geoghegan Hart claims second victory at Tour of the Alps; Police in Leeds catch 11 drivers in one hour during close pass operation; boys lend officers their bikes for (successful) police chase; motor that stops bikes falling over + more

The Northampton Chronicle reports that two boys have been thanked by Northamptonshire Police after they lent officers their bikes for a police chase.

At about 12pm on Monday, three men broke into a builder’s yard in Carisbrooke Way, Daventry, and tried to steal a dumper truck by driving it into the back of their transit van.

A member of the public called it in and after the suspects abandoned their van, a foot chase ensued.

Various members of the public pointed officers where to go before two boys lent them their bikes to continue the chase.

Two men were caught and charged.

Police Sergeant Matt Bailey, said: “The public support during this incident was fantastic and led directly to the capture, arrest and charging of these two individuals.

“I would like to thank all of them for their help but especially the two boys who lent me their bicycles – it was great to know how much they wanted us to succeed in catching up with the suspects.

“These two young men have been written to and invited to spend a day with us on response, which I hope they’ll take up as it’ll be great to spend the day with them and show them a day in the life of a response officer.

“This incident was a great example of how effectively the public and the police can work together and with the teamwork displayed on Monday, the thieves had no chance.”

Covering the Corridor reports that a Virginia cyclist has been charged with not paying attention after a police officer drove into him while turning right at a red light.

In most parts of the US, motorists are allowed to turn right on red.

Here’s the incident from the police vehicle’s perspective.

And here it is from side-on.

New groupset, more sprockets, plus 48/32 chainset and 11-34 cassette options. Read all about it here. 

Julian Alaphilippe has won every one-day race he’s started this year except for the ones where Mathieu van der Poel was also riding, which were all won by Mathieu van der Poel

— The Road Book (@CyclingAlmanack) April 24, 2019

A stat that won’t be particularly welcomed by Julian Alaphilippe, we’re guessing… 

The motor offers steering assistance, propping the bike up straight again if it senses you are leaning too much and are about to fall, and keeps the bike stable at speeds of over 4km/h. It’s a prototype at the moment, and TU Delft have been researching how and when bikes do and don’t fall over for the past 15 years. 

Will it work on a mountain descent at 50mph, we wonder? 

Ralph Keemer was held up, so he drove in front of Laura Fidler and braked. She needed surgery. He failed to stop and showed no remorse.

Full story here.

A men’s and women’s team in GB kit will take to the startline of the Tour de Yorkshire, taking place between 2nd-5th May. Here are those teams: 

Men

Jim Brown
Sean Flynn
Ethan Hayter​
Dan McLay​
Joe Nally​
Will Tidball​
Ben Turner

Women

Rhona Callander
Dani Christmas
Anna Docherty​
Lauren Dolan
Nikki Juniper
Jess Roberts

Leeds Police South have revealed the results from an hour of observing motorists on the A63, and close passing on cyclists appeared to be rife. 11 drivers were caught in one hour passing too close, and a further five were dealt with for not wearing seatbelts and two more for speeding. They say: “This initiative isn’t about picking on or penalising motorists, it is about making sure our roads are safer for everyone. With the success of Tour de Yorkshire we support our partners in wanting to get more people to feel confident in cycling in the county by making sure the roads are safer for cyclists and all vulnerable road users.”

We’ve got no confirmation yet, but word is that Vincenzo Nibali will be a Trek Segafredo rider from next year. Bahrain Merida yesterday announced that Mikel Landa will be their leader for the Grand Tours in 2020, leaving Nibali, winner of all three Grand Tours, without dedicated team support. These rumors aren’t new. We first heard whispers in January. But it seems that the transfer will be confirmed today. Even more interestingly, Nibali is currently throwing down continuous attacks in the Tour of the Alps. Maybe he’s letting his legs do the negotiating?

You can expect plenty of ‘land art’ for the helicopter shots.

Full story here.

Graham from Bournemouth sent us this video.

“The traffic here is awful,” he writes. “Most days it’s actually the cars holding up the bicycles. I dont appreciate being told to use cycle lanes (which has happened multiple times) when quite clearly there’s a reason behind not doing so.”

Graham wants the council to do bike lanes properly.

“At the moment all they do is stick pretty pictures of bikes on pavements.”

Can he hold on? Of course he can. @taogeoghegan outsprints Vincenzo Nibali to take another memorable #TotA victory pic.twitter.com/9OK0RU6M5d

— Team Sky (@TeamSky) April 25, 2019

Capital’s transport body confident its vehicle detectors will pick up oncoming cyclists.

Full story here.