Welcome to Monday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Samuel Sanchez handed two-year doping ban, #BloodyCyclists – bike commuter in India praised for leading ambulance through traffic jam, (£10k) Bikes Under The Hammer + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond as we start a new week
Mon, May 13, 2019 17:39
SUMMARY
13 May 2019, 17:39
In case you missed it: weekend catch-up
Here are some of our top stories from the weekend…
James Cracknell urges cyclists to wear helmets after being photographed riding without one
Arrest made as Vélo Birmingham & Midlands marshal reportedly run over and left with broken hip
Primoz Roglic wins opening time trial at Giro d’Italia (+ reaction and highlights)
Cyclists far less likely to break traffic laws than motorists finds study
13 May 2019, 17:39
Police appeal following Velo Birmingham crash death
Warwickshire Police are particularly interested to hear from anyone who may have action camera footage of incident that happened on twisting descent. Full story here.
13 May 2019, 17:39
Argon 18 go disc with their new TT bike
The New Argon 18 E-118 Pro gets disc brakes and improved aerodynamics, and is being used by the Astana team during the Giro d’Italia time trial stages. Full story here.
13 May 2019, 17:39
Peter Sagan takes first win since January
Peter Sagan has taken his first win since January – and the former world champion did it at a race where he enjoyed huge success over the years, the Amgen Tour of California.
It’s the Slovakian’s 18th career stage victory at the week-long race, the first two coming way back in 2010 when he was aged just 20 and rode for Liquigas-Doimo.
13 May 2019, 17:39
Contents of former high-end bike retailer Ubyk's stores go up for auction in North Lincolnshire, and 'jaws dropped' at the prices...
This morning Ubyk’s liquidated stock, apparently worth over a quarter of a million pounds, went up for auction in North Lincolnshire. Details of the items were given on the CJM Assets website, including some rather interesting descriptions from folk we assume aren’t too used to seeing high-end bikes and gear in the auction room: “Jaws dropped at the Eddisons CJM auction room in Scunthorpe when one small box was found to contain a lightweight bike seat . . . weighing in at just two ounces . . . that came with a price tag of £407 attached.
“The auction has been ordered following the collapse of Oxford and Brighton-based Ubyk, one of the country’s poshest independent cycling retailers.”
We think the ‘bike seat’, unusually weighed in ounces rather than grams (two ounces is about 57g), is actually from US saddle specialists Dash, as Ubyk were known to be one of the only UK stockists of the brand. Auctioneer Paul Cooper said: “I have to say the seat did cause a lot of comment. It is featherlight, quite remarkable, but who pays £450 of their own money on a bike saddle? If I was that worried about weight I would get on a diet for a few days – but I suppose the riders who want this sort of thing have already done that!”
Thanks for that assessment Paul. There were also Parlee bikes and Cippolini frames for sale, worth in excess of £10,000 at full RRP. Cooper helpfully reminds us: “They’re hand built, carbon fibre, with Zipp carbon wheels, although you don’t get pedals at that price. They’re extra”.
The auction was set to close at midday today. We’ll be scouring the interweb to see if anyone managed to pick up any ‘bargains’ this afternoon…
13 May 2019, 17:39
Giro d'Italia stage 3 - Japanese road champ makes Sho Hatsuyama makes solo break
Great effort by Sho Hatsuyama going solo for @NIPPO_Fantini on Stage 3 of the @giroditalia. His first 60km:
Time: 1h35’29”
Avg Speed: 37.8km/h
Max Speed: 72.2km/h
Avg Power: 275W
In comparison Primoz Roglic in the Maglia Rosa in the bunch has averaged 160W at 36.1km/h so far. pic.twitter.com/UiJHjTreAl— Velon CC (@VelonCC) May 13, 2019
The gutsy Hatsuyama finished 170th in the prologue and 169th in yesterday’s stage, but something’s come over the 30-year-old today as he leads by around 7 mins after 85km. There’s a long way to go in the 220km stage yet, though.
13 May 2019, 17:39
Putting on a great Sho...
Sho Hatsuyama is leading the Stage 3 with a sensational break #Giro pic.twitter.com/OJrnhHvLe0
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 13, 2019
13 May 2019, 17:39
British champion Connor Swift joins French team Arkea-Samsic
British road champion Connor Swift has joined the French team Arkea-Samsic with immediate effect, with his principal role there being to provide leadout duties for 11-time Tour de France stage winner, Andre Greipel.
The 23-year-old, ninth overall at the Tour de Yorkshire earlier this month and the cousin of Team Ineos rider Ben Swift, has raced for Madison-Genesis since 2017 and also had a spell as a trainee with Dimension Data last year.
He said: “I’m over the moon with the opportunity that has come around! Things like this don’t happen often and to be able to step up to Pro Continental level with Arkea and go there to be part of a team helping out Griepel will be pretty surreal.
“I am super thankful to everyone involved to make this happen and of course Madison Genesis for the past two years and allowing me to step up and leave the team mid-season.
“I’m excited to kick things off with Arkea which seems like a great team and one that also has a really good race programme too.
“The hard racing on rolling terrain in France will suit me,” he added. “I’m sure it’s going to develop me more as a rider and I’m keen to learn from the more experienced riders.”
13 May 2019, 17:39
Giro latest: Hatsuyama caught
Hatsuyama (NIP) is caught. The @NIPPO_Fantini rider has ridden alone for something over 144 km, having attacked alone in the first kilometre | Ripreso Hatsuyama. Il corridore della @NIPPO_Fantini ha attaccato al primo km ed è rimasto da solo per 144 km.
75 km #Giro— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 13, 2019
It was a pretty heroic effort after riding around 144km out front on his own, but the peloton never appeared troubled. 60 wind-swept kilometres to go.
13 May 2019, 17:39
Giro stage 3: 11km to go, and the sprinters are sounding each other out
Ready for the bunch sprint? | Siete pronti per la volata?
11 km#Giro pic.twitter.com/64aVXWCmuS— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 13, 2019
It’s all set up for a furoious sprint finish here.
13 May 2019, 17:39
The size of that bunch
5 km to go! Bunch sprint is coming! | 5 km al termine! Volata in arrivo! #Giro pic.twitter.com/5vrUEQ4I0U
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 13, 2019
Hopefully no one takes a tumble here, it’s going to be a hectic finish.
13 May 2019, 17:39
Samuel Sanchez handed two-year doping ban
Samuel Sanchez, the 2008 Olympic road race champion, has been handed a backdated two-year ban for doping – although the UCI accepted his explanation that his positive test arose from a contaminated supplement.
The 41-year-old was sacked by BMC Racing in October 2017 after his B-sample was found to be positive, with the date from which his ban takes effect being 17 August of that year, the day on which he was provisionally suspended.
Sanchez, second overall at the Vuelta in 2009 and Tour de France the following year after Alberto Contador and Denis Menchov were disqualified for doping, has not raced since.
News of his ban comes as former German national champion Danilo Hondo, now retired, admitted being part of a blood doping ring being investigated in the German city of Erfurt, with his confession leading to him being sacked as coach to the Swiss national cycling federation.
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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
quiff 23 seconds ago
I don't know Edinburgh, but presumably Mr Fraser's claims that cyclists are given more space than pedestrians apply to those relatively few pieces of dedicated / shared infrastructure - i.e. where a shared path or segregated cycle path exists, he notices that pedestrians seem to have the worse deal. But doesn't that overlook that many urban roads have pavements (admittedly, not always wide, good quality or free from parked cars), but not cycle facilities?
chrisonabike 5 minutes ago
While I agree with much of this (particularly on the "needs better demarcation / separation)" some notes on the specifics of Edinburgh: There are in fact sections of actual "separate *cycle* path" (where there is also a pedestrian footway): Leith Walk, parts of the CCWEL * (Melville Street, Portobello Road to the east of Jock's Lodge, and notably from Roseburn to Haymarket, the latter getting "near Dutch") etc. Unfortunately while these are workable the main issue is these are all fragments. (The width and junctions wouldn't pass Dutch approval either but are less problematic at current cycling levels - eg still very low). Then: the former railways-turned-paths are *mostly* very workable for cycling because at "normal use levels" in my experience the "faster mode dominates" - eg. the few pedestrians cede to cyclists. Yes, aggro types, gangs of yoof and dog walkers can be exceptions, and this doesn't mean I can just blat along without consideration. I mean I can make good progress *including* sometimes slowing right down a few times on the journey, just not all the time. This accords with experience in other "shared spaces". The exception is when there's an event on or it's a really nice holiday day - at which point the numerically dominant mode (pedestrians) control the flow. (Part of the reason I rarely cycle on the Water Of Leith path). I've just been visiting Bristol and the contrast is interesting - while the traffic volumes seem much greater and there are real "narrow streets" they actually seem to be trying. Yes it's very variable and "rough and ready" but they're building infra and making *routes*. * City Centre West East Link
mitsky 18 minutes ago
Absolutely ludicrous from the police. I would file a formal complaint. I reported this driver for phone use and left hooking another cyclist. The phone use was not actioned due to the dark tint of the window making it too difficult to see (I should have reported the tint too). But the left hook definitely was actioned. https://youtu.be/h0oseufAhFg
Rendel Harris 19 minutes ago
@Mr Blackbird And the Dominic Cummings type Tory policy wonk in The Thick of It. I don't think it was the BBC having a dig at cycling though, there was a time when there was a very identifiable type of person who chose a Brompton and they were making fun of that rather than cycling per se.
GravelIsNothingNew 23 minutes ago
Yes, why can’t we edit or delete our comments if we make an error?
mdavidford 23 minutes ago
Reputable retailers? Well, I suppose it's true that Amazon do have a certain reputation...
bikes 32 minutes ago
Lol. At least he doesn't feel guilty for very long as that path is so short.
chrisonabike 32 minutes ago
This news is definitely one for the "no news" category: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3g20yxvm4o Reputable high street retailers blurring the lines you say? Shocked, I was... actually, not.
chrisonabike 35 minutes ago
RE: witnesses can't report crimes. I'm sure wtjs will be along with proof that even victims can't report crimes in Lancs if it's a road offence (and Police Scotland have arranged things similarly)... ... but isn't this all of a piece with the creeping "gosh this Op Snap seems to generate lots of work and our superiors have given us the nod that 'these are not the crimes you're looking for' in the current political climate" viewpoint?
mitsky 51 minutes ago
@Bungle_52 While it may be true that stronger punishment may not affect the thoughts/actions of the worst offenders I would guess that their actions are based on the low likelihood of being caught (driving dangerously but without incident, as apposed to being caught after a fatal/serious collision). So if the odds of being caught when driving dangerously were significantly higher and the punishment strong enough (ie, actions that would fail a test actually lead to loss of licence, rather than just points and fine) then I would suspect that we'd all be safer.
4 thoughts on “Live blog: Samuel Sanchez handed two-year doping ban, #BloodyCyclists – bike commuter in India praised for leading ambulance through traffic jam, (£10k) Bikes Under The Hammer + more”
Doubleing up on live blogs
Doubleing up on live blogs today.
Doubleing up on live blogs
Doubleing up on live blogs today.
And it would seem posts, how ironic.
If you’re good enough to
If you’re good enough to justify a 50g saddle then you’re probably getting all your gear for free anyway.
Where were the
Where were the #bloodycyclists? I remember someone made those jerseys a few years ago. I would instabuy one if they made them again.
https://road.cc/content/news/99247-emma-way-trial-opens-bloodycyclists-driver-denies-charges?sort_bef_combine=created%20ASC&sort_order=ASC&sort_by=created&page=3&qt-more_news=0
Or is Sammy Sanchez the Bloody Cyclist? I wouldn’t trust anyone who wears their helnet backwards.