Welcome to Tuesday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team…
Live blog: Idiot shoots paintballs at World Naked Bike Ride cyclists; Rees-Mogg riding into cabinet position … on a penny-farthing? Cav double punctures at Isle of Man Gran Fondo as drawing pins strewn on road + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Tue, Jul 23, 2019 18:01
SUMMARY
23 July 2019, 18:01
Pinot is now bookies' favourite to win the Tour
We’ve been having a snoop at the latest odds, and Pinot is now the red hot favourite at 9/5 to win the Tour and therefore become the first Frenchman to do so since Bernard Hinault in 1985.
Despite his stronger performance on stage 15 Geraint Thomas is quite far behind at 7/2, current leader Julian Alaphilippe is at 5/1 and Egan Bernal is 11/2 – do you reckon they’ve called it right?
23 July 2019, 18:01
Police get social media backlash after announcing seizure of e-scooters on Twitter
Our colleagues over at the Safer Transport Team Kings Cross seized four electric scooters today for No Insurance. Remember these are not road legal and cannot be used on UK Roads. #VisionZeroLDN Use the QR code for DfT Guidance. pic.twitter.com/39Ecxf7OUo
— Cycle Safety Team (@MetCycleCops) July 22, 2019
The Met Cycle Safety Team’s announcement on Twitter that they’ve been seizing illegal e-scooters has been met with criticism, with many cyclists expressing frustration that they’re being targeted when the city suffers from high levels of congestion due to motor traffic.
Four more cars back on the road tomorrow
— John (@se3john) July 22, 2019
I understand the law, but I can’t help but favourably compare the people using these quiet, slow, non polluting, space saving scooters with the screen- distracted drivers in the huge, polluting, over-powered, congestion causing, speeding cars that make our roads so dangerous.
— DCArt (@DavidCoxArt) July 22, 2019
E-scooters are currently illegal in the UK on both roads and pavements, and can only be ridden on private land with permission from the land owner. Recently their safety has been questioned in the national media after YouTube star Lily Hartridge became the first person in the UK to die in an incident involving an e-scooter.
Are the police right to be getting them off the road/cycle paths or should this greener mode of transport be encouraged?
23 July 2019, 18:01
G and Luke Rowe's 'Watts Occurring' podcast gets unique artistic twist
Watts Occurring? Episode three now live Loving the artwork @tootalldrisc
> https://t.co/EoRi53smIn pic.twitter.com/ZHHkSPNAIR
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) July 23, 2019
Not sure the bodily proportions are quite right, but it’s different I suppose… you can listen to episode three of the podcast here.
23 July 2019, 18:01
Jens' legs don't need shutting up any more
I have found a way I can do the Tour de France again. I can be ready tomorrow @TrekSegafredo pic.twitter.com/IuhEFnSiuq
— Jens Voigt (@thejensie) July 22, 2019
…thanks to the Trek Domane+ e-road bike, of course.
23 July 2019, 18:01
Cav punctures at Isle of Man Gran Fondo as drawing pins strewn on road
Mark Cavendish, left out of Team Dimension Data’s line-up for the Tour de France (how’s that working out, guys?) was back on his native Isle of Man at the weekend to ride its Gran Fondo – although his day out was marred by a double-puncture due to someone strewing drawing pins on the road.
Was loving @iomcyclefest yesterday. Savage route, smashing through with @calcrutchlow & blown away with the brilliant organisation.. (and the wind )
Until my ride (and others) was cut short because some miserable twat threw drawing pins on the road. There’s always one! pic.twitter.com/jVd9VpoFDC
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) July 22, 2019
Home riders Nathan Draper and Sally Walker took the wins in the men’s and women’s events, respectively, while the third rider home in the men’s event was the MotoGP ace Cal Crutchlow, who has a home on the island as well as Tuscany, where Cavendish also has his European base.
23 July 2019, 18:01
Whoop...
The new Prime Minister ladies and gentlemen.
23 July 2019, 18:01
Some amazing Roman architecture on today's Tour de France stage
Besides the Roman sites in Nimes itself where the stage starts and finishes, there’s also the incredible Pont du Gard aqueduct …
You won't see anything more majestic today.
Vous ne verrez rien de plus majestueux aujourd'hui.#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/W2dNrLFkHV
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 23, 2019
23 July 2019, 18:01
Chris Froome's missing the Tour ...
That one time I tried to sprint against @petosagan
Shoot for the stars… https://t.co/r8Fpu4hztw— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) July 23, 2019
23 July 2019, 18:01
Sprint-day snooze...
The peloton crossed the Pont du Gard 1’30” behind the breakaway, led by the sprinters’ teams.
Le peloton a traversé le Pont du Gard 1’30” après l’échappée, mené par les équipes de sprinters.#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/x6qdX0bSSy— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 23, 2019
Today’s stage has the potential to be a second rest day for the GC riders. There’s a group of five up the road with a 2’05” gap while the sprinter’s teams control the peloton.
Commence your snooze or get on with your job. We’ll give you a poke if any crosswinds happen.
23 July 2019, 18:01
Just as we say that...
Thomas crashes @GeraintThomas86 hits the deck coming around a corner but looks to be okay.#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/VcPy8h8wfg
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 23, 2019
Geraint Thomas goes down. As crashes go, this is an ok one…
Sorry, Geraint, the curse of the commentator and all that…
23 July 2019, 18:01
Cycle to Work Day challenges week 4 - female riders who log a ride this week could win a Trek FX Sport
In the run up to Cycle to Work Day on 8th August Cyclescheme are running seven weeks of challenges with prizes to be won – week 4 is one for female cyclists, and with the latest research from Cycling UK suggesting female riders make up less than a third of all
UK cyclists, Cyclescheme are putting the spotlight on female riders. All you have to do is log a ride on the Cyclescheme Love to Ride community between the 22nd–28th July and you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win a Trek FX Sport 4, worth £950 (pictured below). More info on Cyclescheme’s website here.
23 July 2019, 18:01
The Team Ineos riders don't seem to concerned after G's chute ...
Thomas might've gone down for a second earlier but that won't stop @TeamINEOS riders from having fun
Watch Stage 16 of #TDF2019 LIVE on Eurosport
– Eurosport 1
– Eurosport Player: https://t.co/bt3TbPVNQG pic.twitter.com/NH3E8omtAm— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) July 23, 2019
23 July 2019, 18:01
Jacob Rees-Mogg spotted en route to Boris Johnson’s house to secure a cabinet position:
Credit the Have I Got News For You Facebook page for the caption.
On the subject of penny farthings, we reported on the man attempting to break the 132-year-old penny farthing LEJOG record – Richard Thoday is now well on track to break it, currently about 30 miles south of Inverness according to the live tracker.
23 July 2019, 18:01
Fuglsang abandons after crash
Bad news for @jakob_fuglsang as it looks like he has had to abandon @LeTour after a fall during today’s stage #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/vQWRjSC02k
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 23, 2019
It looks like it’s one crash too many for the Dane, who has had a Tour to forget. The helmet is off and it’s all but confirmed that he’s now abandoned the race – more in our full stage report later.
23 July 2019, 18:01
Fuglsang in “too much pain to continue” Tour de France after crash
Astana’s Jakob Fuglsang – third favourite to win the Tour de France at the start of the race in Brussels more than a fortnight ago – has been talking about the crash which forced him to abandon today, when he was lying 9th overall.
I’m really disappointed about leaving the Tour de France this way, but there was too much pain to continue.
Somebody crashed in front of me and there was no way to avoid it, so I crashed over my handlebar. My hand directly swelled up and I could barely stand on my feet, I directly knew my Tour would finish here.
I was very motivated for the final week and I was ready to battle for a higher position in the GC. That this has to be the way of missing out on this battle, is just very disappointing.
Now all the focus will be on recovering, both physically as mentally, because the Tour was a big goal after my wins in Liége and the Dauphiné.
23 July 2019, 18:01
Idiot fires paintballs at World Naked Bike Ride cyclists
Have you ever done paintball?
If so, you’ll know that even through the combat fatigues you’re issued with at the start of the day hurts, and leaves a bruise.
So pity the poor riders at the World Naked Bike Ride in St Louis, Missouri, this weekend who had to put up with this absolute bloody wanker firing paintballs at them …
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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 6 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 7 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 8 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 10 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 10 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 11 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 11 hours ago
They may have looked, but did they see?
jackcycles 11 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 11 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 12 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.
18 thoughts on “Live blog: Idiot shoots paintballs at World Naked Bike Ride cyclists; Rees-Mogg riding into cabinet position … on a penny-farthing? Cav double punctures at Isle of Man Gran Fondo as drawing pins strewn on road + more”
They should prioritise safer
They should prioritise safer driving by running a close-pass operation or even just a crack-down on motorists using mobiles whilst driving. Stopping e-scooters is hardly going to make the roads any safer.
Quote:
I look forward to plod seizing all the uninsured cars they encounter daily. They must have noticed loads with all those extra vans out looking for those dreadfully dangerous scooters.
I won’t hold my breath.
racyrich wrote:
To be fair to the Met, they have been running a “Vision Zero” campaign targeting driving offences recently, and have seized a lot of cars too. See e.g. http://news.met.police.uk/news/55-arrested-and-221-vehicles-seized-at-collision-hotspot-operation-375856
hawkinspeter wrote:
I suspect its the ‘low hanging fruit’ effect – its far easier and more politically acceptable (unfortunately
) to spot and stop electric scooters, RLJ cyclists, whatever than it is to go after the mobile-phone-users, RLJ motorists, etc.
Nevertheless, though, it *is* illegal to use those scooters on the road…
Quote:
Met Police Cycle Safety Team criticised for seizing illegal vehicles in London.
I have used a Lime escooter,
I have used a Lime escooter, not in UK, and thought it was excellent. Of course pedestrians may complain, and we are all pedestrians at times, but the genie is out of the bottle and I can’t see how bikes and scooters can be kept off pavements any more. If scooter use rises then there will be fatal accidents, as we have already seen. Somehow the fact that motor cars were mowing people down right from the word go didn’t prevent their take-up.
Those odds for Pinot seem a bit sentimental. There’s a lot of racing to go in the Tour yet.
Miller wrote:
Yeah as much as I’d be quite happy to see Pinot win it, he’s got a lot of racing to get through, and by his own admission isn’t a big fan of the heat, he could be set for a few days of baking in the Alps. If he manages it though then fair play to him, and to FDJ for actually coming with a team that is capable of supporting him properly for once.
If the police are looking for
If the police are looking for “low hanging fruit” they could seize the cars with obscured/smoked number plates. Easy to spot, I see a few every day. Not only are the plates illegal, they indicate a premeditated prejudice against compliance with speed limits etc. So why wait?
Sriracha wrote:
i think that’s what the paintball shooter was aiming for.
Sriracha wrote:
On one occassion I saw a truck parked in a cycle lane close to a junction, half blocking the road. Illegally parked in more than one way. It had bits of cardboard carefully taped over its licence plates to conceal them. A cop car carefully maneuvered its way past it, and then drove on.
I’ve seen cars parked on the pavement, on ‘stay clear’ chevrons, in cycle lanes, cop cars drive past and nothing happens.
I really think that with few exceptions the police simply don’t care about motoring offenses.
I’m glad that the default
I’m glad that the default punishment for driving without insurance is vehicle seizure.</sarc>
I’d like to see the Met
I’d like to see the Met Police targetting drivers doing 40mph in the 20mph zones.
Many drivers have cut their speed and it makes these zones much nicer as a pedestrian, stopping the bad drivers will therefore have a big effect.
The Jens video is funny, but
The Jens video is funny, but I can’t help thinking that this (admittedly jovial) smugness portrayed by Jens is just the sort of perceived smugness (whether it’s actually there or not) that riles non-ebike riders in the real world too. Having said that, it does demonstrate that ebikes don’t have to be the preserve of the overweight or physically limited. It has always bugged me that so many naysayers won’t accept that you can still have a good workout on an ebike, either by riding at the same effort but going faster, or by riding further than you otherwise would. If/when ebike prices start to properly come down I’ll be very tempted to get one myself for the daily commute and use the car a lot less!
I wonder if the TT races on
I wonder if the TT races on the IoM also have tacks strewn on the course or is it just cyclists targetted like this?
Impressive Popeye forearms on
Impressive Popeye forearms on Cal Crutchlow.
If you tried to brake on a motogp bike with Froome arms I’d imagine they’d snap. Fit lads the motogp lot.
Surely using a paintball gun
Surely using a paintball gun on innocent cyclists is assault, so why wasn’t he arrested? There must have been police escorting the ride.
burtthebike wrote:
I’m amazed the police didn’t arrest the cyclists – this is the back of beyond in the US. Cyclists are like cockroaches, just run them over if they’re in your way.
Paintballs can KILL or
Paintballs can KILL or seriously wound.
All the more likely when you’re firing at people without the proper protective equipment. That guy needs to go to jail. Had I been there in a suitable position I’d have
taken the fucker downneutralised the threat and then called the police.