Welcome to Friday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Alex Bowden and the rest of the team…
- News

Top banana! Wiggo gives Theako chafing advice; Raw power – Primoz Roglic’s Vuelta win wattage; Climate strikes London protest; Winning recipe – bricks in the saddle, horsemeat and garlic… yum + more in the Live Blog
SUMMARY

Rural road where cyclist was killed by speeding driver "an accident waiting to happen", say Diss residents
.jpg)
.jpg)
After a man in his 40s was killed by the driver of a Vauxhall Combo on the busy B1077 Diss to Attleborough road last Friday, The Diss Mercury reports that residents who live nearby want the speed limit reduced as the road was “an accident waiting to happen.”
The stretch where the limit is 60mph features a series of bends, with one resident saying the road was treated “like a racetrack” by some drivers. Local district councillor James Easter said: “At the moment we don’t know why this accident happened. That needs to be looked into but it is undoubtedly true that these bends are an issue.
“An answer might be to reduce the speed limit from 60mph but whether anyone would take any notice of it is another issue.”
London Cycling Campaign to lead ride through Central London at 10.30am in support of Global Climate Strike
Climate Strike is tomorrow!
Join us riding through central London, calling for urgent action on the Climate Crisis.
Start point: 10:30, St John’s Church Park, SE1 2AJ
Ride starts: 11:00
Ride finishes: ~12:00, Parliament Squarehttps://t.co/hCnjuatA3u#ClimateStrike pic.twitter.com/5yqspw4Q1V— London Cycling Campaign (@london_cycling) September 19, 2019
The LCC will support the youth climate strike movement by riding from St John’s Church Park to Parliament Square, meeting at 10,30am for an 11am start. LCC say: “The climate crisis is the biggest threat facing humanity, and cycling has an important part to play in bringing about solutions. With 20% of London’s carbon emissions coming from road transport, a massive reduction in motor traffic and a rapid expansion of the network of high-quality cycling infrastructure is urgently needed.
“Fortunately, this is an entirely achievable goal. We have a roadmap for decarbonising London’s road transport, and now we just need the Mayor and Borough Council Leaders to deliver it. Doing so will create a better city for everyone – one with fewer cars, less pollution, greener streets and much, much more high-quality cycling infrastructure – while helping cut carbon emissions, helping to protect the future of the planet and millions of people.”
Former Giro d'Italia director Michele Acquarone cleared of fraud
Former Giro d’Italia director Michele Acquarone has been cleared of fraud, six years after he was sacked by race organisers RCS Sport after it was discovered that some €13 million was unaccounted for.
Cycling News reports that former company accountant Laura Bertinotti has been given an eight-year and eight month sentence for misappropriation of funds.
The money was reportedly taken from various different RCS Sport event accounts between 2006 and 2013.
“Better late than never,” tweeted Acquarone. “A small joy after six years of huge pain. Thanks to everyone who has supported me over the last few years.”
Bricks in the saddlebags, horsemeat and garlic before the race…
The Telegraph’s got a nice interview with Eileen Cropper, who competed in the first world championships women’s race in 1958 (a mere 65 years after the inaugural men’s event).
She opens by suggesting the reporter is, “only about 60 years late,” and carries on in a similar vein.
She says a number of local shops offered her a bike when they heard she was riding the world championships.
“I got three bikes out of it. I had to say to each one that I had ridden their bike in the race … but I didn’t.”
She says the race itself was “an absolute shambles” and describes rivals popping pills while they were riding.
Cyclists deliver match whistle to Rugby World Cup after riding from Twickenham to Japan
Two cyclists have delivered referee Nigel Owens’ whistle for the opening game of the Rugby World Cup in Japan, having set off from Twickenham on February 2.
The numbers that it takes to ride for a Grand Tour win
Jumbo-Visma gave Primoz Roglic and Steven Kruijswijk’s power meter data (major climbs) to AD. The watts that brought third place at Giro d’Italia (Roglic), third place at Tour de France (Kruijswijk) and first place at Vuelta a España (Roglic). https://t.co/rkJxlMUBr4 pic.twitter.com/SSQCtIZ4sw
— ammattipyöräily (@ammattipyoraily) September 20, 2019
Jumbo-Visma has just released power data from two of their Grand Tour leaders, Primoz Roglic and Steven Kruijswijk.
The data shows some pretty big w/kg numbers, but there’s nothing here that looks ‘extraterrestrial’ to us. Diving into the data for Roglic from the Giro suggests that he was never really there on the climbs, relying more on his TT pedigree to secure a 3rd place finish behind Richard Carapaz and Vincenzo Nibali. The loss of 1kg in body weight also shows the toll that Roglic’s mid-race illness had on him.
Kruijswijk’s Tour de France data is a good indication of how conservative the riders have to be with the efforts on longer climbs. The comparatively short Planche de Belles Filles was completed in 20m37s by Kruijswijk at a power of 388w (6.16w/kg). Compare that to 350w (5.5w/kg) over the mammoth 51m21s climb up the Tourmalet and you can see why having strong teammates to help pace and take the wind for as long as possible is crucial. The day after the Tourmalet stage, Kruijswijk again hit over 6w/kg on the sorter climb.
Roglic’s Vuelta data shows the consistency needed to win a three-week race. The steep climb of Los Machucos saw Roglic push a huge 408w (6.3w/kg) for 22m48s. He repeated this performance two days later on the 29m34s climb to Santuario del Acebo, pushing 406w. For us, this was his most impressive performance as the numerous gradient changes would have suited GC rival Valverde more. Will we be troubling the front-end of a Grand Tour? That’ll be a no.
Edinburgh’s dockless bike stations close due to 'wanton destruction'
Just Eat Cycles that are parked at docking points will remain.
Lizzie Deignan knows the World Championships course prettty well then
I’ve ridden the route so many times just by accident, before it was even announced as the women’s road race,” she tells the Guardian. “Every time I wheeled my bike out of my parents’ garage I turned right and I was on the worlds circuit.”
Jamie Theakston says Bradley Wiggins told him to put banana skins down his pants to stop chafing
Jamie Theakston: Wiggo says put banana skins in pants for charity ride https://t.co/x3AkRQE8ql
— ES Entertainment (@StandardEnts) September 19, 2019
We’re not sure if it’s a wind-up or not, but sure enough the TV and radio presenter told the Standard Online that Wiggo recommended bananas to combat chafing ahead of his 650 mile charity ride around the UK: “Bradley Wiggins suggested I put banana skins down my pants, which I’m not sure if that’s something that helped him win the Tour de France. Apparently if you want to fully protect and lubricate all the areas that otherwise would chafe, banana skins is the secret.
“Yeah I’d give it a go. I can eat the bananas, they’ll keep my energy levels up, and then I don’t have to throw away the skins.”
Witness appeal after Bristol cyclist was injured
We need info after a cyclist was injured on Marsh Ln nr Portbury Docks 11.30am Tues 17 Sept. She’s in a critical condition in hosp with injuries consistent with a collision/fall. We want to talk to a motorcyclist seen at the time. Call 101 ref 5219217316 https://t.co/7WUvhbTHhw pic.twitter.com/jOPNBq85l5
— Avon & Somerset Police (@ASPolice) September 20, 2019
Roval now offers lifetime warranty on carbon wheels
Ever thought about the warranty on your expensive carbon wheels? If it’s something you are worried about, then you’ll be interested to know that Roval is now offering a lifetime warranty on its carbon wheels. Read all about it here.
Westminster could impose 20mph limit throughout borough
Borough already has 20mph limits around 39 schools and is looking to expand that.
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 £1.99. 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.
14 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
Hurrah! This makes a lot of sense to me, because the jump from CUES to R7000 cost and performance-wise is pretty huge, and you still can't find drop-bar CUES for love nor money. From a practical perspective I also think it's great news. I don't feel like my winter bike (currently built with R7000) warrants 12-speed 105 and I can't afford to destroy 12-speed components, so being able to slowly replace bits with "Tiagra" 11-speed is a nice surprise. :)
This just looks like the existing Tiagra chainset, with a mish-mash of old 105 bits. Nicer than CUES, but that's not much of an achievement.
If it was set up originally to the minimum allowed, it would only have needed to move fractionally to take it to an illegal position, in which case it would be near impossible to tell just by looking at a finish line photo.
Flat bar 1x CUES is very popular, its a great price point. Guess the drop bar CUES is an option if you want durability rather than super fast Shimano HG or HG+ shifting.
Even more ridiculous than the UCI-rule he breached is his lame excuse. I've seen a better picture him finishing and both levers are tilted inwards at about the same angle. I've had my share of crashes and it seems rather unlikely you'll move both levers in a crash, let alone moving both levers to about the same angle.
We all make up facts, every day - that's just an inevitable effect of living. What they make up are fantasies.
Here's a thought. We should rip up the M1 and M6 because of their role in road deaths, recent robberies of drivers. Maybe the ferry routes because of the abuse by smugglers. My understanding is that the high streets are dying already - making it easier for people to come into towns on multiple modes would seem to me to be a deterrent to criminality. How many drive by shootings, robbery escapes are committed by people on bicycles? This feels like a few politically motivated individuals recruiting support by "winning" a particular cause.
RE: why not remove the shops. By providing for mass motoring with free-flowing (well...) motor traffic they're already indirectly helping remove local shops... 😉
The anticyclists are stupid people who make up facts.
The CUES story seems a very odd one. It seems to have been years since it was announced yet bikes are still being sold mostly with the groupsets it was meant to replace (and it can't all be overstock, surely?). I haven't followed it closely but it also seemed quite confusing about what it actually was - one groupset but with 8, 9 and 10 speed options... surely that's three groupsets, even if you put the same name on them? And for those who do believe it's all the same, why then buy a £1200-£1500 bike if it has the same groupset (or at least the same groupset name) as one half the price. As I say, I haven't followed it closely so may have missed the point - but good marketing and communication is partly about ensuring that your core message gets through to people who aren't paying much attention for much of the time (which is surely a lot of us, a lot of the time).






















14 thoughts on “Top banana! Wiggo gives Theako chafing advice; Raw power – Primoz Roglic’s Vuelta win wattage; Climate strikes London protest; Winning recipe – bricks in the saddle, horsemeat and garlic… yum + more in the Live Blog”
The Telegraph’s interview
The Telegraph’s interview with Eileen Cropper is a nice peice. It’s not behind a paywall. Do NOT read the comments though.
I agree, a good story. I hadn
I agree, a good story. I hadn’t read the comments earlier but seeing your warning went back for a look (I’ll press a big red nuclear button if it has “Don’t Touch” written on it).
Usual whataboutery – blah, blah, pavement cyclists, blah, nearly hit, blah, insurance, blah – plus some anti feminist rants. The best (?) of these was:
“Why do women write these articles where they are constantly comparing themselves with and criticising men. Get on with your own life.”
The article was written by Jeremy Wilson – who, I’m guessing from the name is a man. Jeez.
Anyway, to Eileen a somewhat belated CHAPEAU!
Ah the “this road is
Ah the “this road is dangerous” defence. Which, seeing as the local authority is responsible for B-roads, means that this is on them and clearly they should close it immediately, no?
Climate change threat is
Climate change threat is completed bullshit . These protesters “MSM bitches “ don’t trust the government etc yet they get there data from the IPCC . “Intergovernmental “ panel for climate change. Who set this panel up . Oh fuck me it was a oligarch called Marcus strong.
AOC the woke US media fake wannabe politicians. Stated that the end of the world is 12 years away . When it was pointed out to her that even the fucking IPCC state that there is and has been no increase in extreme weather ,AOC tweeted that anyone who believed what she said ( she meant it go look at the interview) was a “ sponge brain”
people need to wake up to this agenda the fact al gore has made over 100 million dollars doing deals with Enron ( you know who they are right ,if not go check ) and he has 2 houses on the coast line that he should be underwater according to him .
If you think sea levels are rising then go check all the real estate , houses that are being built in Florida for instance “ one example of many “ do you think if the world was going to end and sea levels rise these billion dollar company’s would be building property and giving out 40 ,50 year mortgages. There is your answer there . Of course not .
I will post these again please look and wake up,to reality not get fooled by oligarchs who want to make trillions from green tax and it ends up that you and me will be paying it . It’s a big fucking scam . https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-282-the-ipcc-exposed/
http://www.habitat21.co.uk/energy151.html
https://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/31472-un-ipcc-scientist-blows-whistle-on-un-climate-lies
amd if of any of you want a education to the way our world got taken over by oligarchs
this is a factual documentary ( no conspiracy BS ) that will change the way you think
https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/big-oil-conquered-world/
if only one person on here takes a look that would be great for those who are MSM bitches stop ,,think for yourself don’t let the BBC or CNN think for you . Follow the money simple as that . NO Government does anything for you . It makes descions to bomb countries and go to war without asking us . Governments lies consistenty and they always use fear to control you instead of facts . Look at the security that’s now at airports etc facial recognition cameras it’s like 1984 . It really is and they tell you it’s for your best . Listen if a so called terrorist ( it’s all manufactured BS IMO ) wanted to do some then they would just get in a boat pull up anywhere on the English coast etc and do what they want. No fucking facial recognition camera is going to stop them or passport check . Think about it . Brexit is just a load of shit , out and out fear mongering . We the people should be allowed to live anywhere we want, how come the governments are supposed to be for the people yet they don’t do anything but fuck us over time and time again. . People should be allowed to move freely all over the world simple as that if the Governments stop bombing the shit out of countries and instead give everybody a place to live a place to have a good life ,health care education etc then we might start getting somewhere . Instead all we get is money grabbing governments making and selling arms creating wars and taking the Wealth and resources of every country they can and keeping it for themselves . https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-09-16/us-now-involved-134-wars-or-none-depending-your-definition-war
Who’s the fucking warmongers.
Xena wrote:
Still not got a life then? You might want to look up prolix.
Xena wrote:
Jesus Christ – how long did you spend typing this irrational stream of nonsense?
You’re just making yourself look silly…
“Never argue with an idiot.
“Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.” George Carlin
Alternatively, there’s Mark
Alternatively, there’s Mark Twain’s “Never wrestle with pigs. You get dirty, and the pig likes it.”
There’s some truth in what he
There’s some truth in what he’s saying. Don’t believe we are suddenly in an age of political and commerical altruism regarding climate change/pollution. Politicians are playing the card the same way as Burger King.
This stuff has been going on for a LONG time, look at all the films in the 1970s and earlier with themes of environmental disaster/hardship caused by man, it’s not like politicians couldn’t have put the brakes on when there was only 3.5billion in the world back then.
Green is just the same as Pride for a lot of these people/companies.
If we really wanted to save the planet we’d go Logan’s Run and start culling people as overpopulation is a the elephant in the room.
Rick_Rude wrote:
When he starts it with Climate Change Threat is bullshit and links to lots of denying websites…….
Rick_Rude wrote:
No, there really isn’t.
You realise that site is a repository for all manner of conspiracies?
I wasn’t even referencing the
I wasn’t even referencing the site just saying if you think all this green signals from Burger King and like purely because of their concern for the environment then I’d rather be a ‘conspiracy nut’. They don’t give a fuck and it’s purely a cost saving measure dressed up as something else. Likewise the car industry would like you to buy a new electric car, even if they know in years to come electric will be out and something else will be in. Probably dubious net carbon cost of buying a new car and all the resources used anyway. You have to do 150k+ miles in a Tesla to start outstripping an A5 tdi in carbon impact.
It just think it’s naive to think that massive multimillion pound businesses aren’t able to influence politics at every level. Look at American politics it’s openly about buying a voice.
Why have we not tried to save the planet earlier as it’s been a problem since early industrialisation. Because business did not want to.
Imagine being Xena in real
Imagine being Xena in real life. What a life that’d be…
Rapha Nadal wrote:
An effing good life ?