Welcome to Monday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Sheffield lifestyle magazine jokes about using razor wire on pavement cyclists, Herrada wins Ventoux Challenge, bonkers Chris Froome crash conspiracy theories on the internet, weekend catch-up + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Mon, Jun 17, 2019 18:48
17 June 2019, 18:48
Jesus Herrada takes the win on Mont Ventoux
Today was the inaugiural Mont Ventoux Denivele Challenge one-day race – and the victory went to Cofidid rider Jesus Herrada who raced away from AG2R-La Mondiale’s Romain Bardet to take the win on one of cycling’s most famous finish lines. Watch how he did it here.
Not a particular strong field but the way Herrada won on Ventoux was simply spectacular! More of a puncheur and than a climber but yet, he followed every attack from Bardet with ease before leaving him for dead with 400 meters to go. Tour stage win awaits. pic.twitter.com/0A1yRkmxHI
— Mikkel Condé v2.0 (@mrconde) June 17, 2019
17 June 2019, 18:48
Sheffield lifestyle magazine jokes about using razor wire on pavement cyclists
The editor of a Sheffield lifestyle magazine has penned an editorial in which razor wire is suggested as a way of dealing with pavement cyclists.
The editorial takes the shape of a – we hope – fictional conversation between Grapevine editor Ian MacGill and a friend going by the name of Mr Smith who demands razor wire “because I’m sick and tired of nearly being killed by cyclists speeding along the pavement here. They need to be taught a lesson.”
The editor expresses the reservation that cyclists may be decapitated,” receiving the response, “Exactly! Word will soon get around that there’s a high price to pay for anti-social behaviour.”
The reservation, however, turns out to be that “our pavements will become covered in red slime and gore, which raises all kinds of health and safety issues” – such as the magazine’s staff slipping on it.
In the final paragraph, the editor actually gets to the point of the column. “Eventually Smith calmed down,” he wrote, “and agreed that his plan was a bit too radical (and messy). Yes he is right to be concerned about a dangerous problem that will not be solved until bicycles are given licence plates that can be photographed by CCTV, and riders fined whenever they misbehave.”
Of course, it’s well-documented that bike licensing schemes don’t work – whenever they are introduced, they tend to be quietly dropped afterwards, but obviously it’s the razor wire references that are attracting attention on social media.
He’s not the first journalist to suggest something of that nature – Matthew Parris did that in The Times a few years back – but such comments, even if made in an attempt at satire are ill judged and inflammatory, and miss the point that some individuals do actually go out and set traps for cyclists, as has happened in Fife, Scotland in recent days.
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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
Mr Blackbird 5 minutes ago
@OldTom In cases like this, the defence council in addition to trying to get a not guilty verdict, is also carrying out the important role of testing the robustness of the prosecution case. It ensures that high standards of proof are maintained for future prosecutions.
open_roads 17 minutes ago
It really doesn’t seem like TfL or the Mayor have thought this one through. Previously cyclists could use Seymour Street and Wigmore Street to travel in parallel to the dangerously congested Oxford Street. With Oxford Street now closed, the traffic / gridlock has been moved to Seymour Street and Wigmore Street - removing the previously safe cycle route. Due to the number of one way streets and squares to the north of Oxfords street there is no longer a logical route for anyone cycling east to west or vice versa.
Rendel Harris 18 minutes ago
@the little onion Not sure she deserves that much credit, she said that when Mr Mullins was thrown clear of the car she looked back and saw him still moving, yet she didn't report the incident to the police until the next day so for all she knew Mr Mullins could have been lying there dying undiscovered through the night. Of course she may have been scared of Richardson's reaction if she tried to stop him or call the police but I'd be hesitant to give her any plaudits on the basis of the evidence in court, some of which (as reported, anyway, there may of course have been other evidence unreported that cast her in a better light) seemed to suggest that her making a report was more motivated by a desire to ensure that she wasn't charged as an accessory rather than making sure Richardson faced the consequences of his actions.
Mr Blackbird 33 minutes ago
@ymm You can be confident that newspapers like the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and Sun etc will, if they print an account of this an account of this case, keep it well away from the front pages.
the little onion 46 minutes ago
It's worth noting that a key prosecution witness was the passenger and cousin of Simon Richardson. I don't know what she was thinking or experienced in that car, or what she could have done differently that day, but she deserves credit for her role in providing essential evidence despite the close relationship with Simon Richardson.
mark1a 53 minutes ago
@Hollis Jones I’m not sure the Rouvy acquisition was a shortcut, it’s been reported by DC Rainmaker and ZwiftInsider (both respected sources) that Zwift started this over two years ago, and the videos are completely different films (albeit similar locations). If there’s a conspiracy theory to be had, it could be that the acquisition was a cheap way out of a lawsuit.
the little onion 1 hour ago
Daily Mail calling that a "Peloton". It's far from even being an Echelon, or a Échappée. More like Chasse Patate
Rendel Harris 1 hour ago
Every time an LTN has been introduced in London, in its initial stages it has been plagued with drivers going through no entry signs, driving the wrong way up one-way streets, driving over pavements to get round barriers etc. I'm not a regular reader of the Daily Mail, thank goodness, but I certainly can't remember seeing or hearing about any report of theirs on that behaviour and an outcry that it was only a matter of time before a driver hit somebody.
Rendel Harris 1 hour ago
@HoarseMann Absolutely, I find it completely absurd and I can't understand why Khan, who has been so good for cyclists and active travel in so many other ways, didn't insist on it. I had a fantasy, which might have been impractical but I think would have looked very pretty, of running a sunken cycle lane down the middle of the street, say four feet deep or so, with suitably attractive pedestrian bridges over it at intervals, so it looked rather like a waterless canal. There's ample room to do it, it would've kept pedestrians and cyclists completely separated, and I think would've looked rather charmingly quirky.
Rendel Harris 1 hour ago
@mitsky Leaving aside the fact that I, and I think most people, wouldn't want to live in a society where physically or chemically mutilating people was used by the state as a form of punishment, why do you think that would be a deterrent? In cases like this the perpetrator, vile as he is, didn't intend that day to murder somebody, he didn't sit down and think okay, I'll get life in prison but I'm not going to have my taste buds or libido removed so I'll chance it. He did one of the most appalling things I've ever heard of a driver doing but on the spur of the moment and doubtless in a panic, if capital punishment was still in place the deterrent effect wouldn't have worked on him. We all know that in the USA states that have the death penalty have no lower murder rates than those that don't, there's no reason to suppose that your proposed, and if you'll excuse me utterly barbaric, form of punishment would act as any more of a deterrent. It might make us, or some of us, feel better about getting some form of revenge on the perpetrator of such an appalling crime, but as a deterrent its effect would be negligible if not non-existent.
10 thoughts on “Live blog: Sheffield lifestyle magazine jokes about using razor wire on pavement cyclists, Herrada wins Ventoux Challenge, bonkers Chris Froome crash conspiracy theories on the internet, weekend catch-up + more”
Something a bit like that
Something a bit like that happened to me some years ago. A screw went through my rear tyre and punched a hole in the bed of my Mavic Ksyrium rim. With the screw firmly locked in place the wheel did a couple of revolutions before I could stop and the screw head had put some horrible scratches along the seat tube. I think I was swearing to myself for the remaining six miles home.
About 15years ago, commuting
About 15years ago, commuting home through East London, near City Airport, there’s a big bang and back wheel locks solid. In rush hour traffic. Bit hairy. Screw through sidewall of tyre, out through top of tyre, right through mudguard (how the hell?) immediately screwing the tyre solidly to the mudguard. Took a while to sort that out. Needed a new tube, new tyre and new mudguard before we were finished.
Wondering – and clearly not
Wondering – and clearly not important with Froome because he’s out for a while – is there an immediate exemption granted for traces of drugs given in emergency medical treatment? Blood transfusions, adrenaline, steroids, opiods etc all widely used. Clearly you’re not gaining an advantage but are you allowed to ride on a big dose of painkillers following a crash like Roglic’s road rash in the Giro, or Dan Martin hitting the wall in the TdF?
kil0ran wrote:
I don’t think you’d be in any fit state to race if you’d legitimately needed a blood transfusion.
Think the rules on painkillers are pretty strict. Tramadol being a recent example of stricter policy.
That said, Froome’s biological passport will be all over the place now, conspiracy theorists will have a field day if he does make a comeback.
Ach, tubeless would have
Ach, tubeless would have dealt with that screw easily.
Miller wrote:
Depends how big the screw was.
Miller wrote:
I detect sarcasm. This happened to me exactly. Sent sealant mist spraying in all directions.
Let’s hope he’s filled in his
Let’s hope he’s filled in his ADAMS whereabouts correctly or when the testers come knocking at Froome Towers, Monaco there’ll be hell to pay.
Riding Vale lanes: PING, BANG
Riding Vale lanes: PING, BANG, PING, PING.
Rear flat.
I followed my usual routine of finding the hole in the tube and checking for a cause in the tyre. Nothing there, but for some reason, I plugged that hole in the tube with a finger, and blew it up again. And found another hole. And another. And another…
Inner tube looked more like a colander.
Eventually, I find a thin, rusty, bent nail in the sidewall of the tyre, caught under the rim. It must have been trapped between the tyre and frame, bouncing back and forth. Just glad I checked for more holes before I put a new tube in. Didn’t fancy the walk home. Rim was scratched to **** and a bit dented, but I rode it for a while longer.
Is it irony that the address
Is it irony that the address of this rag in Sheffield is London Road? The road which gave it’s name to the Planet X much lauded commuter/all-rounder?
Fuckwits.