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
chrisonabike 19 minutes ago
Self defence is certainly lawful in the UK albeit it's not a "get out of jail for any violence" card. * Otherwise you're right it's wise to a) get off the bike if you're stopped unless you have fast reactions and an Olympic-level sprint start and b) get it between you and any threat. You might be able to make a case for having a sturdy lock / long bike pump ** at hand also. But... do you practice combatives daily? And even if you do you would want to be circumspect about being armed before it kicks off, to avoid the appearance of escalation. And have a believable story eg. "at this point I noticed the lock had fallen on the ground and without thinking I picked it up". * One example being that if you own potentially lethal projectile weapons getting some legal advice in advance on what constitutes "self defence" would be a very good idea. The UK view on that *is* different compared to some other countries. ** Guessing not may people have decent length metal bike pumps on their bike now...
lesterama 30 minutes ago
Toe Go pedals: I'm glad you told me that the sticky-up bit goes between the big toe and second toe. I didn't think my sphincter was developing the watts.
mdavidford 1 hour ago
It does now have the 'paid promotion' banner - clearly someone had an attack of weekend-itis and forgot to add it when the item went live last night.
Aluminium can 2 hours ago
Is self defence legal in UK? Or do you just have to take a beating then file a report? A strategy in same situation would be to get off bike and keep bike between yourself and the attacker. You can then use the back wheel of the bike as a metal tennis racquet as required.
arowland 2 hours ago
"the divider was not defective as it was never designed to have a pole or reflectors" Or to paraphrase, "It was designed to be lethal and it nearly worked."
tomlew 3 hours ago
@Global Nomad UCI rules state that a bike must be commercially available, and unless the rules change, one-off custom frames are not an option under the current regulations. On the other hand, we've seen cases of track bikes which officially were indeed on offer, but practically their price was absolutely ludicrous which made them impossible to buy. Hard to say where the line is exactly. BTW an advert is not a feature. Please be honest. Just because you call a cat a dog you won't make it bark.
HoarseMann 3 hours ago
It's a fairly common name, but could this be the same person? Age is roughly the same: https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/4657477.insane-violence-gang-man-21-jailed-for-five-years-over-west-howe-stabbing/
jackcycles 4 hours ago
In my view Tony is a victim of two tier justice. Essex police *could* easily find the perpetrator if they wanted to, but their priorities lie elsewhere. In the same period, Essex police have hounded people for posting hurty words on twitter. For example, in November 2024 they attended Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson's home to "investigate inciting racial hatred" when she posted a photo of woke police officers standing next to campaigners with the caption "how dare they". They infamously provided a bus service for counter protestors when the local community was protesting in Epping about the Bell Hotel. Essex police have also spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on DEI initiatives over the same period, de-prioritising actual policing such as violent crime as a result.
Global Nomad 4 hours ago
Have to wonder when, like Motorsport and F1 , the connection of pro bike and consumer bike will finally be complelety broken, top bikes already super expensive but expect to see carbon frames being rider specific one offs soon. 3d printing and custom fit will bring that closer as seen on TT bars.
yodhrin 7 hours ago
Apparently I was confusing them with journalists.
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.