With the Tour de France starting tomorrow, here’s all the latest from our team in Brussels ahead of the Grand Depart.
road.cc live blog from Brussels Grand Depart: Sagan drops teammates on TDF training ride; media, fans and cats descend on Team Movistar camp to catch a glimpse of the world champ; more Tour de France tat; all the best Tour tech + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond ahead of the Tour de France starting tomorrow
Fri, Jul 05, 2019 20:40
0
SUMMARY
5 July 2019, 20:40
(Not) Geraint Thomas gets a new bike just in time for the Tour
Geraint Thomas is currently preparing to defend his Tour de France title.
Meanwhile, @geraintthomas has just got a new bike…
Pleased to be getting @geraintthomas, one of the most patient people on Twitter, on a bike this July… He’s #NowaCyclist pic.twitter.com/xrIEGReU1q
— Evans Cycles (@EvansCycles) July 4, 2019
5 July 2019, 20:40
Behind the scenes at Silverstone as Team Ineos go wind tunnel testing
“We know when you’re going at 45-50kph the number one thing that slows you down is air.”
Take a sneak peek behind the scenes with Team Ineos and Swiss Side as they give a bit of an insight into aerodynamic testing.
5 July 2019, 20:40
Geraint Thomas is announced as new brand ambassador for Continental Tyres
In his first action as brand ambassador Geraint provides a glimpse into the world of professional downhill racing in a short film called “Confidence”. As Geraint himself said: “follow guys riding Continental tyres, they will stick when others will not. And sticking’s is what you want.” Let’s hope he remains upright for the next three weeks…
5 July 2019, 20:40
Day two in Brussels - the media, fans and their cats all descend on the Team Movistar camp
Going to check out the world champion’s bike is a special occasion… so guess it’s only right to bring your cat with you. We caught Valverde and his Movistar teammates just before they set off for a training ride around Brussels, with plenty of fans (human and feline) there to catch a glimpse of their heroes.
5 July 2019, 20:40
Tour de France tat part 2: a polka dot goat
We think it’s a goat anyway, and despite his rotund build this one is still supposedly good at climbing. Yours for 15 euros…
5 July 2019, 20:40
Tour TT rigs: 1x, crazy 3D-printed cockpits and massive chainrings galore
We’ve been having a gander at the TT bikes at the team hotels – with the second stage being a team time trial the riders and mechanics are making sure everything is tip-top. First up, the Cervelo P5 of Nicolas Roche with massive 58/46t chainrings…
The mechanics told us Sunweb’s bikes for the Tour were also specially painted in the UK with a much thinner and more delicate paint than the standard P5 to save some weight. We also spied this very neatly integrated Elite TT bottle and cage, different to the Chrono CX bottle set that joe public can buy.
At the Katusha Alpecin camp, Alex Dowsett and co will be running a SRAM Red eTap AXS 1x set-up for their TTT. We also spotted a few riders using non-standard chainring sizes over at Trek Segafredo yesterday, clearly SRAM are happy to customise for their pro teams.
The award for the craziest cockpit of the Tour so far goes to Rohan Dennis. His Merida Warp has 3D-printed bars, moulded to the shape of his forearms with some padding in there for extra comfort. There’s even a computer mount built in…
5 July 2019, 20:40
Dan Martin's Colnago V2R
Martin’s all-round race bike is a beauty, dressed with Campagnolo 12 speed Super Record EPS and a non-standard 54/39 chainset. We also spotted Martin is running the special edition Tour de France Look Keo blades with ceramic bearings, the first time we’ve spotted them in the wild…
5 July 2019, 20:40
Brussels names street after transgender cyclist Willy de Bruyn
Green Alley in Brussels between Gare du Nord and Tour & Taxis, will be renamed today after Belgian cyclist Willy De Bruyn, born Elvira.
Elvira was born intersexual, meaning she has a combination of male and female biological traits.
She became the female world champion in 1934 and 1936.
By the end of 1936, Elvira was more interested in her identity, and was at last recognized as a man on 24 March 1937 after a name change.
5 July 2019, 20:40
Team Dimension Data get a few new members
The Velokhaya Life Cycling Academy – or Velokhaya for short – is a not-for-profit organisation based in Khayelitsha, South Africa.
They use their cycling-based programmes to involve youth in a positive, after-school activity.
Yesterday, at the Team Dimension Data team presentation in Brussels ahead of the Tour de France they were given the chance to join their heroes up on stage.
The Beginning | Inspire
A journey from a rural township in South Africa, to @LeTour for @Velokhaya.
“We’re not crying, you’re crying” – #BicyclesChangeLives pic.twitter.com/Ei4hwdmrrW
— Team Dimension Data (@TeamDiData) July 5, 2019
5 July 2019, 20:40
Tour de France tat part 3 - pants
What better way to pay homage to Le Tour with some yellow boxer shorts? Just 18 euros to you monsieur.
5 July 2019, 20:40
Let the madness begin ...
The 106th Tour de France starts in Brussels tomorrow. Here’s our previews of the opening three stages.
Stage 1
Saturday 6 July
Brussels – Brussels (192 km)
The opening stage features two climbs that over the years have so often proved decisive in the Tour of Flanders, the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg, but today they feature early on rather than in the final. Nevertheless, it will as always be a nervous start for the peloton, and we can expect a lot of jostling for position ahead of both ascents as riders try and keep themselves out of trouble.
On the way back into Belgium’s capital, the race passes the battlefield of Waterloo, as well the suburb of Wouluwe-Saint-Pierre, the childhood home of Eddy Merckx, who spent more days in yellow than anyone else in Tour de France history. The peloton will be going full gas to reel in the day’s break ahead of what looks set to be a bunch sprint finish in the city’s Royal Park.
Stage 2
Sunday 7 July
Brussels – Brussels (TTT) (27.6 km)
A change in the race lead is highly possible today, and even this early, time gaps between teams with overall ambitions may have an impact later on – but last year’s team time trial in Cholet saw just 11 seconds separating the fastest five teams, with the now-defunct BMC taking the win.
Today’s stage starts at the Palais-Royale in the Belgian capital and finishes outside its most emblematic building – the Atomium, built in 1958. Whoever is in the overall lead today will be sporting the iconic structure on the yellow jersey, with the one awarded after each stage each marking people and places in the race’s history.
Stage 3
Monday 8 July
Binche – Epernay (215 km)
Another stage with a Spring Classics flavour – today, the Ardennes, with four punchy climbs within the final 40 kilometres as the race heads into France. It’s not going to end in a bunch sprint, for sure. There’s a time bonus available on one of those, 15 seconds from the line – remember Geraint Thomas banking some of those last year on his way to victory?
There’s also a 15 per cent slope approaching the line. One for Julian Alaphilippe … or a final Tour de France stage for Alejandro in the rainbow jersey? The Champagne for the stage winner should go down particularly well tonight – Epernay is at the epicentre of the wine-growing region.
5 July 2019, 20:40
Peter Sagan trains so hard he drops his team mates
On our way to another team hotel, we spotted none other than Peter Sagan himself out training on his time trial bike one last time before the Tour de France Grand Depart tomorrow. Sagan was chugging along at one hell of a pace in front of a gang of Astana riders, and shortly afterwards the rest of his own team arrived with Peter nowhere to be seen. Save something for the race son!
5 July 2019, 20:40
That's all for now
…from us in Brussels – we’ll be bringing you race reports from tomorrow till the end of the Tour and plenty of tech articles and videos on all the bike porn we’ve managed to borrow while we’ve been here. Au revoir/saluu!
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £2.49. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
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.
No Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
Mark Thompson 1 hour ago
@DrG82 is a liar. First off, who here said they got everything right? "I wouldn’t say that the Welsh government got everything right." The article contains commentary saying they didn't get everything right. I suppose saying something obviously true sets you up to lie later... "They applied the speed limit changes uniformly, without considering exceptions" You are a liar. The Welsh Government guidance contained rules that would allow councils to exempt roads from 20mph. As an example, much of my route into town stayed at 30 and 40mph because my council bothered to apply the exemptions. I particularly enjoyed your unsupported claim of "This has been a massive waste of money". The article states "collisions involving all road users on 20mph and 30mph are down 37 per cent, with casualties dropping by 35 per cent". I'd say a one-off cost of changing road signs for a permanent 1/3rd reduction in collisions is gonna save the taxpayer a chunk of healthcare costs and owners and businesses a chunk of money not fixing car bodywork. Nothing but contempt for you. Take your lies elsewhere.
Oldblokey 7 hours ago
With so many people using and looking at mobie phones whilst driving and other distractions, may I suggest you always wear Hi viz and stay at home.
kil0ran 7 hours ago
The design of the "car" has played a role in this. SUVs and what the Americans call "trucks" are exempt from the pedestrian safety regulations which apply to passenger cars. Had the victim been hit by a car designed in the past twenty years he would have been "scooped" onto the bonnet and either over the roof or off to one side. Still a serious injury risk and potentially fatal but they have the benefit of those passive safety systems to improve their chances. With vehicles with such a high bonnet line as this Volvo has what tends to happen is the person bounces off the bonnet and falls on the road in front of the vehicle where they're then run over. This has happened time and time again and is becoming more of an issue as the numbers of vehicles exempt from the safety standards grows.
whosatthewheel 9 hours ago
@Accessibility for all Reducing the speeds wouldn't have helped in this case as the driver was reported doing 65 in a 40 zone on the approach to the junction, his driving described by the witnesses as erratic and evidently had no intention to stop to give way even though he had been warned by the passenger who apparently shouted "bike" three times just before the collision. He would have likely flown through that junction even if it was traffic light controlled with a red light for him at the time. In my own experience the entire area i.e. east of Lymm towards Warburton and along Dunham Road all the way up to Altrincham and past into Hale Barns, all those wealthy, posh settlements around Manchester Airport are best avoided by road cyclists. A disproportionally high number of psycho drivers must for some reason live in that area because every single time I went there on my road bike in the past, I either got harassed myself or witnessed proper dickhead driving - speeding, close passes, overtaking into oncoming traffic or round a blind bend, accelerating towards pedestrians already crossing the road, you name it. I gave up road cycling in that area years ago and only use the local TPT these days.
Hollis Jones 9 hours ago
In respect of the murder charge: based on him hitting Mr Mullins and making no attempt to help him (this killing him), how would the case compare to a hit and run driver who seriously injures or kills a cyclist, knowingly, and flees the scene without helping? Would this make the cut for a murder charge? Or is there something very different going on here that I’m missing? Genuinely curious because I don’t recall there being a murder charge before for this kind of thing unless it was premeditated. In fact, in my experience most cases like this seem to go the opposite way - where the driver can merely say the sun was in their eyes and get away with a slap on the hands.
jaymack 9 hours ago
@Rendel Harris...and there was me dishing out the praise!
whosatthewheel 9 hours ago
@polainm He must also be an already hardened criminal. It wasn't mentioned during the court proceedings to avoid influencing the jurors and ensuring he had a fair trial, but he had been released from prison shortly before this incident and was couch surfing at his cousin's house days before. Just look at his face, he's only 35, but looks older than his victim who was 56. Must have spent half his adult life in prison.
Rendel Harris 10 hours ago
@jaymack They did offer him manslaughter though but he declined to plead guilty. Without wanting to seem curmudgeonly, yes great that they preferred the most serious charges but hard to see how they could have done differently considering that Richardson got out of the car, saw Mr Mullins was stuck underneath and then got back in and carried on. That clearly moved it above anything that falls under death by dangerous driving.
Velophaart_95 10 hours ago
@thrawed Agree - the UK winters are utterly grim; grey, wet & windy. Not the type of weather you really want to go out and ride. Everything get covered in filth, and takes time to clean it after a ride. Oh for colder, drier & crisper days which can be enjoyable to be out in.
polainm 10 hours ago
@ymm In my view, lax sentencing of dangerous drivers, especially where cyclists are involved, makes the judge, jury and CPS complicit in UK driver culture. This driver is a sociopath.