Live blog: Wiggins saw someone stabbed to death growing up; Cyclocross event at Herne Hill Velodrome; Did mandatory helmet law kill Melbourne’s bike share scheme? + more

Each bike in Scotland is being used around once a month.

Full story here.

Today’s near miss was reported to Lancashire Police who said they would offer "words of advice" to the driver after first blaming the cyclist for "cycling into the path of the van".

Full story here.

Oh hi. Come do our first ever TEKKERZ CRIT X tomorrow at @HerneHillVel . We've done it officially. It's going to be sick. Basically rally x / supermoto for bikes. Sick prizes, sick times. Come down. Details in insta link. https://t.co/LoTelkK5VL pic.twitter.com/Wgw2ogzIW3

— TEKKERZ (@TEKKERZcc) August 30, 2019

Broadcaster is due to host new Brexit show from next week after convalescing for most of August.

Full story here.

Barcelona-based LEM Helmets has launched its new Motiv Air lid “precision-built for road, XC, and gravel cycling, whatever that means, which weighs a claimed 220g and costs £210.

What is interesting about the helmet is what the company calls a proprietary exoCarbon™ technology and low-density EPS foam, which together give claim to “improved low-energy and oblique impact management and an unmatched strength-to-weight ratio.” As with all claims, best to take it at face value.

“The technology and construction of the MotivAir is precise and sophisticated to offer enhanced head protection in a lightweight, compact design,” said Keith Cozzens, Global Brand Marketing Director at LEM. “By integrating a thin, rigid, full-carbon exterior shell, we’re able to improve the overall benefits of the high-performance helmet for cyclists, and, in turn, help create a riding experience that’s memorable.”

The helmet also features 23 vents for cooling, a micro-adjust retention system, reflective details and a lightweight straps. It’ll also come in six colours.

It’s certainly got us interested and we’ll try and get one in for review.

Not strictly a cycling-specific product, but useful if you do other sports aside from cycling, Garmin has launched new Fenix 6 multisport watches today.

They’re packed with all the sort of tech you’d expect from the GPS giant, but they now have bigger screens, better battery life and a new pacing tool for runners. You can also listen to music on the move with storage for up to 2,000 songs. Plus they’ll do heart rate monitoring, VO2 max estimates, turb-by-turn navigation, track your sleep and record any activity.

They’re not cheap, starting at £599.99 for the Fenix 6 Pro and 6S Pro, and rising to £649.99 for the Fenix 6X Pro. More info at  www.garmin.com/en-GB/

A nasty crash in the Vuelta yesterday led to a number of abandons, including overall contender Rigoberto Uran, former race leader Nicolas Roche and Britain’s Hugh Carthy.

“Today we’ve had a really tough day, there was a crash on a descent on a corner, and there were a number of riders who went down, there was no possibility to avoid the crash,” said Urán.

“Us riders, we are used to having these crashes so we know what it takes to recuperate from them. There’s no other option, we just have to take some time out and recover to then come back. I’ve learned a lot about this, each time you learn a bit more, you go out there hoping not to crash or at least to not break anything.”

Uran’s team-mate Carthy added: “If I look at the work we’ve done this week, we can be happy. The team now can look forward and continue racing. I wish them luck.

“I’m all OK – nothing too serious. Could have been a lot worse. I’m thankful for the help from the team and the hospital. I’m looking forward to recovery now.”

Roche was a little less phlegmatic.

“There’s not much to say. I think this is one of the biggest disappointments I’ve had in my career. I’d worked so hard to get back to this level and it was a new opportunity to show that I was at this level again.

“There’s nothing broken which is the good point. I have some stitches in my forearm and pain in my quadriceps which is why I could not continue.”

Melbourne has scrapped its $2 million-a-year blue bike share scheme, which has been running since 2010.

The Age reports that each bike is only being used once a day.

Mandatory helmet laws have been blamed for the low uptake. A few years ago the government subsidised the sale of $5 helmets from convenience stores in a bid to encourage higher use and then later trialled offering free helmets.

Elizabeth Kim from the RACV, which runs the scheme, said multiple factors had led to its failure.

"Helmets might have been one of them, but really, the free tram zone, being able to get on a tram right next door to the bike share stations. Also, at the end of the day the bike share scheme was quite small for a city of this size."

That said, the responses to this tweet from ABC certainly seem to follow a theme.

RIP the blue bike share scheme.
The state government axed the project last night as each bike was only used on average once a day. Did you use it? If not why not? pic.twitter.com/aaDfOWtILt

— ABC Melbourne (@abcmelbourne) August 29, 2019