Welcome to Friday’s live blog with Simon MacMichael, Jack Sexty and the rest of the team …
road.cc live blog from Brussels: Team Ineos criticised for unveiling “gas guzzling” Ford Ranger Raptor as their new Recon Car; Tour de France team presentation; Tour de France tat + Vélo North cancelled and more
We’re in Brussels ahead of the Tour de France departe, here are some of our highlights so far…
Thu, Jul 04, 2019 15:32
SUMMARY
4 July 2019, 15:32
This is why you should get up early in the summer
5.30 this morning, Holborn … no motor traffic, just a bicycle gloriously lit up by the morning sun.
4 July 2019, 15:32
Renshaw to Retire
It’s been an incredible journey… a massive thank you to all my family, friends, teammates and fans for the last 22years of cycling at the highest level! https://t.co/8lQ9bc5uVr
— Mark Renshaw (@Mark_Renshaw) July 4, 2019
Mark Cavendish’s lead-out man Mark Renshaw is set to retire at the end of this season.
The Australian sprinter formed an unstoppable partnership with Cavendish at HTC Highroad, helping the British sprinter to the majority of his 30 Tour de France stage victories.
Renshaw briefly joined Blanco Pro Cycling to try for his own victories but returned to lead-out man duties with Etixx Quick-Step before moving to Dimension Data with Cavendish.
Our favourite moment that the pair produced was this fabulous victory on the Champ Elysees back in 2009.
4 July 2019, 15:32
Does aero kit make you go faster?
We made Dave ride round and round in circles for an hour to try and find out!
4 July 2019, 15:32
Vélo North cancelled
The closed-road Vélo North sportive, which has caused some controversy (as usual, with closed-road events) has been cancelled two months out from its inaugural run, which was due to take place on 1 September.
On the event website the organisers say that “Despite our best efforts, we were unable to attract sufficient riders to justify the event going ahead. We apologise to everyone who had signed up and was looking forward to taking part – we hope you understand our reasoning and appreciate that this was not a decision we took lightly.”
The email to entrants paints it slightly differently: “Despite our best efforts, we were unable to attract sufficient riders to justify the level of disruption the event would have had on residents, businesses and communities throughout the region as a result of the road closures.”
More on this one soon…
4 July 2019, 15:32
Greetings from Brussels
We’re here to nose around the team hotels, shoot some cool bikes and generally soak up the atmosphere ahead of the Tour de France departe on Saturday. Here’s a shot of Grand Place we took last night where the team presentation will take place from 4.25pm today. If you’re planning a visit yourself, we can confirm the beer in Belgium is indeed reassuringly strong…
4 July 2019, 15:32
Big Dave's on disc
While the rest of Team Ineos are sticking with rim brake bikes for the Tour, Sir Dave Brailsford’s own bike is a disc brake version of the Dogma F12. The Ineos boss is looking fit as a fiddle and could have passed for a member of his team as he headed out for a ride this morning, here he is looking really pleased to be papped in the photo below.
4 July 2019, 15:32
More spots from the Team Ineos camp: new number plate needed and a prototype chainring for G
While the team vehicles have all been fully transformed to their new team colours, we couldn’t help bt notice the personalised plate could do with updating…
Meanwhile, we managed to take a closer look at Geraint Thomas’ Dogma F12 and were intrigued to spot a prototype 38t inner chainring. With an 11-30t cassette and 53t big ring this will presumably give a slightly better spread for hilly stages without resorting to grinding on steep inclines.
4 July 2019, 15:32
Custom stems from the Bora-Hansgrohe camp
Peter Sagan has his signature ‘why so serious?’ catchprase accompanied by The Joker on his stem…
…while Daniel Oss has gone for this pun that doesn’t really work or rhyme, but is unique all the same.
4 July 2019, 15:32
What do you think of this paint job?
We reckon this is a new limited edition colourway of Trek’s Madone, as it’s not one we’ve seen before and the Trek Segafredo mechanics were pretty quick to hide it when they saw us snapping. Insert ‘what brand is it?’ joke here…
4 July 2019, 15:32
Tour de France tat part 1
We’re not just out here looking for news and bikes, we’re also on the hunt for tat… and what could be more tenuous than a Tour de France eu de toilette? Luckily it smells quite citrussy rather than like sweat and chamois cream.
4 July 2019, 15:32
The Tour de France news you've been waiting for
Bike manufacturers have been working on bikes. Riders on their fitness. And, erm, Bostik on sticky numbers. We think.
“Bostik has developed a hot melt adhesive solution (or hot melt glue) sprayed on the back of the bibs”, it gushes. “Its formulation, based on industrial technologies and with an accurate dosing of 60 grams, has been tested in its laboratories to assess its adhesion rate and flexibility in extreme conditions (wind and rain resistance, perspiration …). Solvent-free formulated and made up with 10% of bio-sourced materials derived from pine resin, the company is also committed to act as a responsible industrial company”
“The result is an amazing simplicity: adhesive bibs that are easy to apply on the jerseys by pressing strongly and slowly on the palm of the hand. They provide both more comfort and lightness for optimal performance while being able to be removed without damaging the shirt and without leaving marks.”
We’re assuming it’s talking about the self-adhesive bib numbers, rather than bib shorts. It doesn’t actually say so in the press release, ever. Unless self-adhesive bib shorts are a thing now, and no-one told us.
4 July 2019, 15:32
SKILLZ
4 July 2019, 15:32
The 'Manneken Pis' finally gets some appropriate clothing
The famous Brussels statue, that literally translates to “Little Pisser” according to Google, was dressed with a yellow jersey by a quick-thinking member of the public. It was eventually removed by security unfortunately, but we think the outfit was a significant upgrade if not protecting all of the lad’s modesty…
4 July 2019, 15:32
Bora-Hansgrohe unveil new jersey for Tour de France
Do you like our new, special-edition @BORAhansgrohe jersey from @sportful for @letour? pic.twitter.com/UX8sNFhPAz
— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) July 4, 2019
Perhaps to make their star man feel a little more exclusive despite not donning a world champs jersey for the first time at the tour in a few years, Bora Hansgrohe have unveiled this new jersey for the race. What d’ya reckon?
4 July 2019, 15:32
Tour de France team presentation: Richie Porte not best pleased at being asked if it's "now or never", Geraint Thomas says we should know who's going to win by the end of week two
A fairly uneventful Team Presentation took place in the Grand Place this evening, with arguably the most controversial moment coming during Richie Porte’s mini-interview on stage – the compere put it to Porte: another Australian won the Tour when he was 35, you’re 34, is it now or never?”
As well as pointing out that Evans was in fact also 34 when he won in 2011, Porte didn’t seem best pleased about his age being scrutinised: “I don’t really know what to say to that. Maybe best I just say nothing.”
Later on Team Ineos took to the stage, with Geraint Thomas saying that he thinks we’ll have a “pretty good idea” of who will take the GC by the end of the second week.
4 July 2019, 15:32
Team Ineos under fire for unveiling "gas guzzling " Ford Ranger Raptor as new recon car
We’re excited to be using the new @FordEu #RangerRaptor as our recon car during #TDF2019. It looks amazing! pic.twitter.com/rBPznBADDW
— Team INEOS (@TeamINEOS) July 4, 2019
The team are taking flak for using the (not exactly environmentally-friendly) Ford Ranger Raptor for their Tour de France course recons this year. Some of the replies to this post aren’t exactly positive…
Huge misjudgement, Ineos. Horrendous gas guzzler linked with a sport such as cycling.
— Ian Hancock (@hancock_i) July 4, 2019
4 July 2019, 15:32
(Not) Geraint Thomas gets a new bike just in time for the Tour
Geraint Thomas is an Olympic Medallist, World Champion and Tour de France winner.
Meanwhile, @GeraintThomas has just become a cyclist.
https://twitter.com/EvansCycles/status/1146856384614547457
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Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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Latest Comments
chrisonabike 5 hours ago
"All that's required is an to roads policing" - that's a big all... Although no doubt the "idiots just keep coming" aspect does apply: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz9lel2wz93o "Man charged after car crashes through bowling alley" - luckily they only skittled over skittles.
chrisonabike 5 hours ago
Almost any change to roads and streets is accompanied by a period of heightened danger, and in the UK "look out for cyclists" will need to be learned... practically. And over the time it takes for cyclists to become a regular feature. OTOH once (if...) good designs are in and frequent enough such that drivers encounter them AND the cyclists on them regularly (another big if) I don't think they should be much more difficult than a footway to deal with. These things are all over NL - don't have the collision stats but they should. (NL isn't perfect but collecting info on the safety of designs to feed back into better designs as required is part of the "sustainable safety" philosophy - if they're really a killer I think they'd be altering these.)
wtjs 6 hours ago
I'm in the happy position of agreeing with everybody here! I've never considered a bike with a stand, yet I'm impressed by the ingenuity and adaptability of this axle. I tow a Yak Bob with a Robert Axle, employing my El Cheapo Vitus gravel bike and I just have to be very careful where I stop. Hedges are generally a dead loss, and I seek walls, telegraph poles and signposts and generally lean the widest part of the Bob against it. One very awkward task is removing the two steel pins which lock the trailer arms onto the special mounting slots on the Robert axle, and when you have one out, the sodding weight in the trailer can twist the whole caboodle and bend the Bob fitting before you can get the other out and unhitch. I doubt if a stand would help with that. You can imagine that this combo is a real pain when you have to get it over the bridge at railway stations, and it nearly resulted in Merseyrail nearly parting me and the trailer on the platform from the bike on the train. It's a long story for another time. Another axle example recently featured on here, with a 12mm front axle bearing the Herculean weight limit of a monster American front rack.
HoarseMann 8 hours ago
This has nothing to do with the type of bike - it's the type of behaviour that's the problem. Banning the sale of such bikes will not curtail the behaviour. They'll just find another type of vehicle and continue to drive dangerously as there's such a lack of enforcement. I'd sooner see them ban the bally. But really, all that's required is an improvement to roads policing.
AidanR 8 hours ago
The EAPC Bill is welcome, but full of holes. What's to stop an overpowered but temporarily limited e-bike being sold and subsequently delimited? This is often a trivial process.
Sredlums 9 hours ago
@KiwiMike Yeah, in my over four decades of riding all over Europe I've never 'been for a ride in the countryside'. That must be it. Or, and I know this is a wild concept, you just accept that I just voiced my personal experiences and never missed a kickstand, like I wrote. Anyway, what's the big horror of laying your bike on its side for the very few occasions where there is nothing to lean your bike against?
mdavidford 9 hours ago
They may have looked, but did they see?
jackcycles 10 hours ago
Ds2025: where they are going wrong is that they are crushing the motorbike rather than the person sat on top of it. If they did the latter this issue would be solved in less than 24 hours.
Rod Marton 10 hours ago
I came this way today with the car boot sale in operation. There was a marshal at the entrance, who stopped a car turning right across the cycleway as I was approaching. So that certainly works. I think it necessary for the marshal to be there, I couldn't say if the driver would have turned if he hadn't been there but you always have to suspect the worst. Unfortunately there is no marshal at the exit, and there was certainly a car stopped across the cycleway as I was approaching it. But he pulled onto the road before I reached it, and the following car stayed off the cycleway as I went through. Ideally there should have been a marshal there too. On the whole, though, it's a really high standard piece of infrastructure. Just a pity it doesn't extend a bit further.
eburtthebike 10 hours ago
“absolute carnage” So right! Just look at the bodies piled up, blood running in the gutters and injured people limping away. It's a bit of a problem with a road, delaying some people for minutes at a time: it isn't carnage, let alone 'absolute carnage'. Anyone who exaggerates so ridiculously really shouldn't be allowed to comment in public, unless they want to demonstrate their idiocy to all and sundry.
28 thoughts on “road.cc live blog from Brussels: Team Ineos criticised for unveiling “gas guzzling” Ford Ranger Raptor as their new Recon Car; Tour de France team presentation; Tour de France tat + Vélo North cancelled and more”
Nice picture – although I
Nice picture – although I prefer my 6am commute around Coniston Water.
Heads up – Velo North cancelled due to lack of interest…discuss!
Kendalred wrote:
I’d signed up for the Velo North. Mostly driven by nostalgia, since it was those roads that introduced me to the whole world of road riding after being a mountain biker all my life. Fantastic roads and scenery and some of the best climbs I’ve ridden in the UK, all on a second hand £50 halfords special racer. Was looking forwards to riding the same roads when fitter, and on a much better bike with zero traffic to worry about.
I can see why though, when I lived there, the Etape event was cancelled too due to public complaints about closed roads and lack of riders. Its a shame really as it really is a fantastic place to ride, but often overlooked in favour of Wales, London and Yorkshire, and actually the local tourism would benefit from the exposure. The roads aren’t overly busy, except the main Weardale and Teasdale routes so not that much to be gained, other than bombing down the Crawleyside and Bolly on the racing line!
Kendalred wrote:
Absolutely no surprise here. If ever there was a closed road sportive designed to annoy people then this was it. The fantastic roads in the area are usually so quiet that actually closing them would make very little difference, except to residents and we all know how inconvenient 1 day out of 365 with the roads closed are from other public outcrying when events have been scheduled. Paying excessively for the priveledge certainly wouldn’t makes sense for anyone who has already ridden in the area.
In addition this wasn’t a great route – many more fantastic climbs are available nearby and the dead miles to and from Durham at the start and finish weren’t well throught out. Good riddance.
Nostalgic seeing Cav and
Nostalgic seeing Cav and Renshaw, in light of this years TdF news… what a partnership.
Indeed… surprising news on Velo North. I imagine the lack of traffic on the rural roads makes a closed road event less relevant than down south, particularly given the lumpy entry fee and long journey/accomodation etc for visitors.
What an absolute beast.
What an absolute beast. Sprints shouldn’t be that easy – that looked effortless.
Absolutely amazing, but it
Absolutely amazing, but it was 10 years ago. Unfortunetely time moves ever onwards. [Noticed cav was still Livestronging at the time, oh dear, well I guess it was for cancer.]
This is why you should get up
This is why you should get up early in the summer
5.30 this morning, Holborn … no motor traffic, just a bicycle gloriously lit up by the morning sun.
Those Jeremy Vine videos always seem quite early in the morning though?
Seems a bit OTT to have to
Seems a bit OTT to have to prototype a 38 tooth chainring – it’s not exactly radical compared to a 39 is it?
daccordimark wrote:
I guess because it isn’t for sale as standard yet, and with the UCI rules etc saying it’s a prototype probably gets around them ever having to make them for sale if they don’t want to.
daccordimark wrote:
When I moved on to 9 speed I used to use a 37T inner with the 130mm BCD, there were only two companies that did them IIRC, still it meant I could stick with a 12-26 which I thought was a fairly wide/mountain set up, certainly compared to the 42-24 low I used to have. I can’t beleive how I used to get up the slopes on that, but then that’s 30 years and a couple of stone away.
eX-SKY seems quite
eX-SKY seems quite appropriate to me.
Velo North, that’s what now
Velo North, that’s what now two or three out of four or five closed road events cancelled by (CSM Active parent company)in the past two years?
Best not put too much faith into CSM Active events in future methinks, booking hotels and travel arrangements in advance appears a bit of a lottery.
That Madone paintjob is
That Madone paintjob is fantastic. Big fan of the oversized Trek logo too. Wouldn’t work so well for other brands because it’s the K on the head tube that makes it work.
INEOS, doing their absolute
INEOS, doing their absolute damndest to make Sky look totally moral.
I can’t believe anyone can
I can’t believe anyone can really be surprised at a company sponsored by fossil fuel processors using a vehicle that uses more of said product than any other reasonable vehicle for that purpose. Get used to it, Brailsford and co have broken cover… they are giving up pretending as they head for cushy retirement. Those who want to keep waving flags can hold their noses.
I find it strange that they chose to hold that closed road sportive on the same day as the already well established Tour o the Borders (also closed road). I know it’s not exactly next door but it’s not that far up the A68. Can I drop a recommendation here if anyone who has been dumped on by those organisers? Tour o the Borders is a cracker and very well organised. The macaroni cheese pies were a revelation too…
Ad Hynkel wrote:
Whilst I don’t disagree, exactly how eco-friendly was the Team Sky Death Star bus?
brooksby wrote:
The sport of cycling is horrendously un-environmental, the TdF more than all the others. They use helicopters for filming and often aeroplanes on stage transfers for riders, whilst the vehicle convoy drive lorries and buses, they plan stage starts and finishes not based on logic, but who’s paid for the stage to start in their town. Bikes and kit get used for just one season, it’s all so horribly wasteful and ironic that it’s used to promote a human powered sport.
I still love it though, and IMO that guzzling Ford support car still looks cool.
peted76 wrote:
The goal of the TDF is not to promote cycling, it’s to make money. Like 99% of all professional sports.
i was very uneasy about Ineos
i was very uneasy about Ineos and this just looks like a f#ck you to the
#climateemergency
Why didn’t they just get hybrids???
john1967 wrote:
It would be nice if some teams would now come with fully electric cars. Just to show ex-sky what’s up.
cdamian wrote:
It would be nice if some teams would now come with fully electric cars. Just to show ex-sky what’s up.— john1967
Electric vehicles are not significantly less productive of CO2 than ICE vehicles, and depending on how the electricity is generated, can produce more. Neither will they reduce congestion, road danger or reduce obesity or improve health; they are pretty much irrelevant apart from the single advantage of reducing pollution at point of use.
There is currently massive coverage of electric vehicles as “the answer” to pollution and climate change, which is extremely misleading to say the least. On BBC R4 this morning at about 0630, they interviewed a professor who pointed out that most of the publicity about electric cars was greenwash and they wouldn’t solve the huge problems of profligate car use. They have had several subsequent long articles today about electric cars, all of them either stating explicitly that electric cars are zero carbon, or heavily implying it, without challenge from the interviewer. No mention whatsoever of active travel, as the BBC has a de facto ban on mentioning the benefits of a massive switch to cycling.
burtthebike wrote:
Do BBC producers read road.cc? They finally mentioned active travel on R4 this afternoon. After a day spent promoting electric vehicles of course. It starts at 46:40
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0006dwt
Sportive organisers should
Sportive organisers should give some serious thought to closed road rides: whilst they are great for riders, they frustrate locals and disrupt lives, quite often get cancelled as a result and then become an admin nightmare (for both organisers and entrants). Better to keep rider numbers down and leave the roads open. If there are too many riders for a one-day ride, spread it over two.
I’d give an exemption to Ride London, however, as its in an around the capital. That said, having ridden it a few times I’m not entirely convinced that closed road rides are much safer for riders with some taking risks that they otherwise probably wouldn’t.
How dare Ford name the little
How dare Ford name the little pickup a Raptor. Its for the f150 SVT Raptor https://www.google.com/search?q=f150+raptor&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjpjPHqjp3jAhVIfMAKHaUNDukQ_AUIECgB&biw=1366&bih=608
I’m no fan of pick-up trucks
I’m no fan of pick-up trucks or Ineos, but Team Sky didn’t exactly have great credentials on this even before the Ineos rebrand. Sky used a Ford Ranger last year too, and previous cars have included the Jaguar F-Type and Ford Focus RS. A Google search also reveals a Mustang and Ford GT in Sky livery (not sure if they were actually used on course thouogh). None of these were designed for fuel economy.
That Ford, Raptors must fly
That Ford, Raptors must fly to live and hunt, that thing looks like it waddles and will never take off. No matter how much POWER! it has.
Soaring could never be a word used to describe that.
Pretty sure Bahrain-Merida
Pretty sure Bahrain-Merida have been using a Mclaren. Just throwing that out there.
I love technology, cycling & cars. I also want to do more for the environment. But ultimately, as said above, TdF would cease to exist if it was 100% eco friendly. I get that we all need to try harder but as also mentioned before, sport relies on sponsorship.
What a shock, they’ve fucked
What a shock, they’ve fucked up (again) on the Velo North. They honestly couldn’t organise an orgy in a brothel. But I’d imagine they’ve made loads of interest on all the pre payments, so that’s probably the entire point.