Welcome to Tuesday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Cyclists aren’t the “Scourge Of The Streets” says Chris Boardman ahead of tonight’s Channel 5 documentary – they’re people’s family members; Grayson Perry’s blinging bike; TdF latest + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Tue, Jul 09, 2019 19:02
SUMMARY
9 July 2019, 19:02
We feel your pain Chris...
Tomorrow, I intend to commute by train with a bike. I’m stressed already. And surely that’s not right.
— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) 8 July 2019
Ever tried boarding a Great Western train from Bristol without a reservation booked about a year in advance? Never ends well!
9 July 2019, 19:02
"Scraping the bottom of the barrel"
This really is scraping the bottom of the barrel!!
— Paul Taylor (@Paultaylor66) 9 July 2019
This ‘documentary’, which has been called “45 minutes of hatred” by journalist Peter Walker, airs tonight unfortunately…
9 July 2019, 19:02
Alex Dowsett's winning Tour de France Twitter so far
There was a couple of crashes today. Subsequently the flat earthers are calling for a ban of stage 3 of the tdf along with road bikes, tarmac roads, lycra, exercise, sweat, downhills, uphills, flat roads, tyres and brakes, as some crashes are caused by too much brakes
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) 8 July 2019
Dowsett always has an amusing anecdote or two to share, and this one is regarding his previous criticism of an interviewer who asked if time trials should be banned because Chris Froome had an accident on a time trial bike. Some sensible suggestions here…
9 July 2019, 19:02
So much going on in one photo...
Chilling in the presidential suite #lifeontheroad pic.twitter.com/Xnacsdgw2b
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) 8 July 2019
Epic tan lines, an empty takeaway carton, some suspect art on the wall, and who knows what’s going on to right of G’s bedside!
9 July 2019, 19:02
9-year-old crashes less than 1km into a 100km charity bike ride due to "disgustingly repaired" pothole
Bailey Bocutt embarked on the ride with his mum, granddad and members of the EG Cycling Club to raise funds for cancer charities, inspired to make a difference after seeing his cousin battling Leukaemia.
Less than 1km from starting, however, Bailey hit a large pothole (above) on the A22 near East Grinstead, which according to his mother was “A disgustingly poorly repaired patch that had collapsed.”
9 year old Bailey had a nasty tumble at the weekend doing a 100km() charity ride. I’m sure the cycling community would all like to send him a massive get well soon! https://t.co/kKQQYzXv2v
— Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) July 8, 2019
Bailey was taken to hospital and kept overnight due to the extent of his injuries, but a family friend told road.cc that he is now recovering at home. He received a message of support from Sir Chris Hoy yesterday, and is determined to get back on the bike to complete the ride at a later date. Bailey has already raised over £8,000 for Children with Cancer, Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden, the fundraising page is here.
9 July 2019, 19:02
Brad on a bike: Cav approves
Absolutely crying with laughter watching @SirWiggo on the moto for @Eurosport_UK’s @LeTour coverage. Along with bike racing, he was made to do this. His Instagram Stories are absolute gold too. Not just for laughs, his knowledge is impeccable pic.twitter.com/3IvkvHJ05o
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) July 8, 2019
9 July 2019, 19:02
Tim Wellens' Tasty KoM Bike
Proud mechanics with the bike for @Tim_Wellens today and more to come !
Nice job @Lotto_Soudal @Ridley_Bikes @CaptofCycling pic.twitter.com/roTT72PhC4— Marc Sergeant (@marc_sergeant) July 9, 2019
We suspect that Ridley had this frame ready before the Tour because overnight, PolkaDot Jersey wearer Tim Wellens magically got a new bike with a fancy new paint job.
It probably wasn’t magic pixies that built it up though, more like one of these tired Belgian mechanics!
9 July 2019, 19:02
The never-ending podium handshake
The never ending podium handshake, featuring @KNiewiadoma pic.twitter.com/0TASutjUhY
— Coreen Mazzocchi (@mazzok) July 8, 2019
Canyon-SRAM’s Kasia Niewiadom found herself locked in a seemingly infinite handshake as she collected the Maglia Rosa yesterday, in a test of endurance on a par with the 100km stage she’d just completed. A captivatingly akward watch…
9 July 2019, 19:02
Important sock length update
Stunning work by the cat3memes Instagram account here. Operación Socko is in full swing…
9 July 2019, 19:02
Quick-Step confirm Kasper Asgreen is fit and ready for stage 4 after yesterday's crash
Here he is!@k_asgreen, happy to continue #TDF2019 and to get a morale-boosting visit from his beautiful family before the start of the stage. pic.twitter.com/fpT9JqLmVc
— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) July 9, 2019
Thankfully Asgreen came off far better than his bike, which was literally cut in two after he crashed deep into yesterday’s stage. He went to hospital after gingerly crossing the line but has been given the all-clear to continue today.
9 July 2019, 19:02
Arkea Samsic's dangerous socks
What do you reckon, do these Ekoi socks worn by Arkea Samsic meet the UCI’s rules? As we all know by now, socks must not extend higher than the halfway point between the ankle and the knee. These boys are living life on the edge.
9 July 2019, 19:02
Graham Obree* joins the TdF peloton
An Un-identified Rolling Object goes on the attack
Attaque d’un Objet Roulant Non Identifié #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/DP0sEfVdB6
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 9, 2019
*Probably not Obree
9 July 2019, 19:02
That's an amazing front light on Grayson Perry's bike ...
Going for a very gentle pedal round central London, yes I have got lights in case no one sees me pic.twitter.com/oeaWJQVGdp
— Grayson Perry (@Alan_Measles) July 8, 2019
9 July 2019, 19:02
Tour stage 4 latest: Frederik Backaert wins intermediate sprint, Viviani picks up points, drunk people in a paddling pool
Coming to you live from the most refreshing place to watch the 4th stage
En direct du coin le plus rafraichissant pour regarder passer l’étape 4 #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/MI0Ar1e5fR— Tour de France (@LeTour) July 9, 2019
Backaert was first over the line out of the breakaway, and from the peloton Elia Viviani was the best of the rest ahead of Sonny Colbrelli and Peter Sagan. And these people found a more refreshing way to watch the action…
9 July 2019, 19:02
Viviani wins stage 4 photo finish
@eliaviviani wins in the sprint!
@eliaviviani s’impose au sprint !#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/80cmyzvR3Z— Tour de France (@LeTour) July 9, 2019
It’s two in a row for Deceuninck–Quick-Step, as Elia Viviani beats Alexander Kristoff and Caleb Ewan to the line with Peter Sagan finishing fourth – full story on the site coming soon.
9 July 2019, 19:02
Chateau, Ellie!
Some serious face-pulling by The Gurning Kwik Fit team’s Ellie Vivaldi there! She’s won the women’s race just a day after her teammates Julian, Alan and Philip took the top three places yesterday. Chateau!!!
— UK Cycling Expert (@ukcyclingexpert) July 9, 2019
9 July 2019, 19:02
Cyclist's aren't the 'Scourge of the Streets' - they're people's family, says Chris Boardman
Chris Boardman, the world and Olympic gold medal winning cyclist turned cycling campaigner, has said ahead of tonight’s Channel 5 documentary that cyclist’s aren’t the “Scourge Of The Streets” – a reference to the programme’s title – but members of people’s families.
Boardman who remains a policy advisor to British Cycling in addition to his principal role as Greater Manchester’s cycling and walking commissioner, was speaking in a short film for the governing body ahead of the programme, which airs at 9.15 this evening.
Cyclists aren’t the ‘scourge of the streets’. They are mothers, fathers, grandparents and children all doing their bit to make Britain a healthier, greener and more liveable place.
Share this video from @Chris_Boardman to help us make our message loud and clear to @channel5_tv pic.twitter.com/PDkRGEjsRi
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) July 9, 2019
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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).
8 Comments
Latest Comments
yodhrin 7 hours ago
@robgodd The poor guy himself suffered a traumatic brain injury and his skull was so badly shattered a significant portion of it had to be removed - do me a favour, have a look around cycling helmet manufacturers and see if any of them claim the foam hats they produce will protect against or even mitigate that level of injury. I'll wait if you like, but I can save us both the time and tell you what you'll find: none of them. Not a single one of them will. Because they don't, and they *can't* based on simple physics. Once the point of failure in a material is reached all(or as near as makes no odds) of the additional force beyond that necessary threshhold transfers through to the object beneath. Since bicycle helmets are rated for forces roughly equivalent to being dropped straight down from a stationary start 1.5m above a hard surface. Now, I'm not an expert in vehicle crash investigation, but I'm *fairly* sure that any impact or series of impacts powerful enough to render a quarder of your skull into gravel, put you in a weeks-long coma, give you massive amnesia, and leave you with ongoing symptoms of traumatic brain injury are a little bit, a teeny-weeny amount, a little smidgeon-widgeon more than what bike helmets are rated for. That's why none of the companies that make them claim they will help in such circumstances: because they know it would be a lie, and that unlike uninformed punters, carbrained journalists, or "medical professionals" who think wearing a helmet would save you from a broken arm(an actual scenario encountered by a mate, who's nurse at the A&E tutted and harrumphed her way through his whole treatment due to his lack of helmet despite his bonce having come through *being hit by a car* - another scenario bike helmets are worthless in - completely unscathed), the lawyers for those companies know their business and understand that if you lie in advertising you will get sued into the ground.
Mr Blackbird 9 hours ago
The Battle of Ypres April 1915. The German infantry division advanced using das Brumptstadt Fahrarden. The slow speed kept them behind the cloud of chlorine gas as it drifted towards the Commonwealth trenches. The offensive cleaved a two mile gap in the Western Front. The use of cycles was copied by the Japanese as they invaded Singapore and Burmah. By then war technology had embraced wider low pressure tyres, carbon frames and hydration gels. The German forces decided not to incorporate cycling as part of Operation Session, as bike theft in London and the South East was rife and would have caused huge casualties. Ironically superior advancement of tyre technology led to a British victory at El Alamein. This technology played a key part in the US Marines victory at Iwo Jima.
ROOTminus1 9 hours ago
The appropriate response to Google pissing on your cereal is not a fancy new sugar that removes the taste of urine. Stop using Google products where you can. Firefox browser and DuckDuckGo search engine have had noticeable upticks in market share by explicitly NOT pushing AI.
belugabob 9 hours ago
my thoughts exactly...I wonder how that approach is working, with motor vehicle drivers...🤔
Anonymousattorney 9 hours ago
I do not wish to diminish the personal tragedy, but one never hear calls for pedestrians or even hikers to wear clothing with integrated lightening rods.
chrisonabike 10 hours ago
RE Andy Burnam / Heidi Alexander - this is the best thing in many ways - set an example (even if currently it leads to lots of online name-calling). And imagine some of the political alternatives! The folks in the apparently second-placed party seem incredibly unlikely to be doing so. And even the current "new Greens" seem less interested in ... y'know, environmental things. OTOH I wish Heidi could be bolder. And I fear that like anyone ambitious enough to get to the top (exception B Johnson - well, I guess there was the Corbyn bicycle...) Burnam will be trimming his transport policy sails to fit the wind (should that be "bunker-fuel-burning engines"?)
Rendel Harris 10 hours ago
@mattsccm Bull bars aren't banned, they just have to conform to regulations so they are deformable or have plates that allow crumple give on contact, rather than rigid steel bars that can smash into pedestrians and cyclists with no give at all, catch them and drag them under the wheels. If you think that's a problem, do one. Why should who is responsible for a collision remove the responsibility of people driving a tonne of machinery on the road from having safety features to at least mitigate some of the effects of a collision?
AidanR 10 hours ago
I'd be willing to bet that's lazy use of stock photography rather than deliberate misinformation, but the result is still the same.
Backladder 10 hours ago
@smallbeer You obviously don't realise how many bulls there are wandering around Chelsea, in and out of the china shops, that he needs to protect his Range Rover from.
chrisonabike 10 hours ago
I agree, it's bloody 'elf and safety overreach, can't help some people, I put some meat, sorry, neat decoration on the front of mine and the polis were round poking their noses in like that (mind you, that was a mistake...) (etc)
8 thoughts on “Live blog: Cyclists aren’t the “Scourge Of The Streets” says Chris Boardman ahead of tonight’s Channel 5 documentary – they’re people’s family members; Grayson Perry’s blinging bike; TdF latest + more”
Hope you get back on your
Hope you get back on your bike soon Bailey!
I wish councils would at least do some spot checks on the work of their contractors and subcontractors road repairs.
Jesus. I hope he can sue the
Jesus. I hope he can sue the council for that. That’s a terrible bit of damage.
Just when the world thought
Just when the world thought that there could be no tan worse than a cyclists tan… the Lotto Soudal mechanics appear from the back of the truck.
The damage is that the road
The damage is that the road subgrade has washed away underneath the patch – for some time by look of (limited) picture. This would have been a visible defect for months.
Without the context of a good picture of the whole road can’t comment any further
My thanks to his holiness,
My thanks to his holiness, Lord Sir Chris Boardman for that short piece re cyclists and their place on the streets. In a few short moments he puts everything into context and gives me (some) hope for the future of transport in this country.
that wasnt as bad as i
that wasnt as bad as i thought it was going to be. Still showed some ignorant morons out there still think cycle paths are compulsory though. Dave sherry made me laugh, as im similar to him. I’m probably as qualified as he is, allbeit i drive trucks, not buses. Go on davey! The old guy in the big red truck saying he couldnt get past the cyclists on box hill, may i ask, would he not be able to pass if he rode a motorbike, the other single occupant transport vehicle? A big red nissan truck is for hauling two to three people and a load of chopped trees, not for a whiney old man to move around by himself in. I’d have got past all of those bikes easily on my motorbikes, cos i chose the right vehicle to overtake other people, not a car….using a car to try and get around other people is like walking into a lift whilst chronically obese, then having a shout at the underweight toddlers in the lift with you when you realise you can’t get out without hitting them. You are too fat and wide, thus have chosen the wrong vehicle[ or weight and width, in this example]. The bike lane cabby- the bike lanes are empty because most people are at work, yes? That tends to be what people do… the road is full up because thats just how it is, full. The roads without cycle lanes are full up and stop moving too. You never seen a motorway come to a standstill? Thats the cycle lanes fault is it? Oh yes, they dont have cycle lanes, so you got nobody to complain about. I think next time i ride my motorbikes and i come across single occupants in cars in traffic jams im going to point at the bus stop signs and inform them they must be on the bus as the law says they have to be, the council spent a lot of money for these bus services so why dont you use them instead of slowing down bikes?
gaz rides wrote:
Pensioners too. They get FREE bus passes, provided at GREAT expense by the government, how dare they choose to drive a car the ungrateful bunch?!
Now available to watch on
Now available to watch on line https://www.my5.tv/cyclists-scourge-of-the-streets/season-1/cycle-wars