Drama as winner of U23 World Champs road race disqualified; Operation Puerto back in the news; Junior rider left in tears after being left at the side of the road; Wiggo’s top five world champions; Peloton loses 11% of value on first day’s trading + more
SUMMARY
A rider to root for in future races
This is awful to watch.
German Dario Gomez Becerra burst into tears yesterday after being left at the side of the road following a mechanical.
Absolute heartbreak #Yorkshire2019 pic.twitter.com/LtW0Ip9qvx
— Hannah Walker (@spannawalker) September 26, 2019
The Colombian had been in the front group in the Junior Men’s World Championships Road Race, but after watching car after car pass him by before neutral service arrived to give him a wheel, he ended up in the second group with all hopes of winning gone.
Becerra is 18. Hopefully at some point in the future we get to see him have a better day.
Wiggo's top five road world champions
You ain't riding through him
WATCH OUT!#Yorkshire2019 pic.twitter.com/xqeFkcaSXz
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) September 27, 2019
To be fair to the marshal, he gave the rider a push to get her going again.
Event Marshal S10
Taking hit while trying to protect riders… #respect #Yorkshire2019 pic.twitter.com/TTQmEwyrwV
— Brian Smith (@BriSmithy) September 27, 2019
Future of top women’s team in doubt
The 2020 season will be the last year for the Boels-Dolmans team with title sponsors Boels Rental and Dolmans Landscaping both pulling out.
The Boels-Dolmans team has been number one in the UCI team rankings since the end of 2015.
They became team time trial world champions in 2016 and won the women’s teams’ World Tour in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
The team has, at one point or another, won all the major classic races and tours and last four road race world champions all rode for the team.
The 2020 season will be the last year for the title sponsors @boelsrental and @DolmansGroup Through the sponsorship of the women’s team, both businesses have more than achieved their goals in terms of brand awareness and visibility. Read further here:https://t.co/Y7846flswv pic.twitter.com/R9KfW3bnVT
— Boels-Dolmans (@boelsdolmansct) September 26, 2019
Behind the Smile - The Esteban Chaves Documentary
Grab a cuppa and watch this mini-documentary about one of the most charming pro riders in years.
Loads of nodes
We like it so much, we will be copying it https://t.co/zD9HQYYRio
— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) September 26, 2019
Speaking of Boardman…
He’s been appointed to the UCI Mass Participation Events / Advocacy Commission.
The commission’s main goal is to grow and improve cycling worldwide. It focuses on both everyday cycling and mass participation events.
What was this soigneur thinking?!?
This race has been brutal for crashes and a soigneur takes out Gabriel Lennert from the USA! Awful. #Yorkshire2019 pic.twitter.com/Ywvl2kBi4C
— Elisabeth Anderson (@velobetty) September 27, 2019
Then again, the rider should be making every effort to get to the side of the road to take that bottle.
'Low sun' explanation rejected after driver left cyclist with brain damage
Scottish motorist handed £450 fine and four-month ban.
Megan Jastrab of the USA wins the Junior Women's Road race
GB’s Elynor Backstedt finished fifth.
It’s GOLD for Megan Jastrab in Junior Women’s Road Race!! #Yorkshire2019 pic.twitter.com/RXiglxutKs
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 27, 2019
What a finish to the Junior Women’s Road Race!
@JastrabMegan
Julie de Wilde
Lieke Nooijen #Yorkshire2019 pic.twitter.com/PD6ir9cXEt— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 27, 2019
Peloton loses 11% of value on first day of trading
The connected indoor training company Peloton didn’t have a great first day on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The company, best known for very expensive spin bikes (and unreasonably litigious nature), priced its shares at $29, giving it a valuation at IPO of an eye-watering $8bn. But it’s yet to make a profit, and on the first day of trading shares closed at $25.76, down 11%. Interviewed by CNN, CEO John Foley admitted some “slight disappointment” at the first day’s trading. but said, “We’re trying not to take it personally”. The company is also the subject of an ongoing music lawsuit which claims licensing infringements on over 2,000 songs and is now seeking $300m in damages.
Teams rebel against UCI Classics Series ahead of its launch next year
Pro teams’ association says teams’ and riders’ rights aren’t being recognised.
Flawless conditions for the men's U23 race at the World Championships
Some riders will relish this, others not so much…!
144km to go. #Yorkshire2019 pic.twitter.com/qXbYKUs33H
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 27, 2019
£1,000 raised for self-employed cyclist who was victim of hit and run
Operation Puerto "thwarted" by slow pace of Spanish legal system says former Wada boss
Wada concluded its Operation Puerto investigation in August and 11 athletes (10 male and one female) were identified in connection with Dr Eufemiano Fuentes’ blood doping ring.
However, due to the 10-year statute of limitations having elapsed, the names can no longer be made public.
“It is regrettable but anticipated,” said former Wada boss David Howman.
“The pity is the efforts by Wada over the years were thwarted by a very slow-paced Spanish legal system. At times it seemed as if the intention was to delay any proper approach.”
The only cyclist to serve a ban in connection with Operacion Puerto was Alejandro Valverde, the current world champion.
Drama as winner of U23 World Championship road race disqualified
Nils Eekhoff of the Netherlands was the first rider across the line at the end of a very tough Under-23 men’s road race at the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Harrogate today – but was subsequently disqualified for taking a tow off his team car following a crash earlier in the race.
The win instead went to Samuele Batttistella of Italy with Stefan Bissegger of Switzerland elavated to silver and Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock – Yorkshire born and bred – who had led out the sprint being awarded bronze after initiallly missing out on a medal as he finished fourth in a seven-man sprint in Harrogate.
Pidcock had been part of a four-man group that looked set to contest the finish in Harrogate but three other riders – including the winner – got back on ahead of the final kilometre.
It took the best part of half an hour for the race jury to make its decision, and Eekhoff was disconsolate as he was led away from the finish area by staff of the Dutch team.
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Latest Comments
If anyone reading this article is looking for reasonable alternatives Decathlon sell a range of bum bags including one with a bottle holder that comes with the bottle all of which are less than £20. I've got a bum bag I bought a few years ago to replace a North Face bum bag that has lasted really well including commuting and cycle touring that was only £10 and that doesn't seem to have any of the drawbacks of the pack on review.
@Borisface The frameset is similarly priced to e.g. Condor aluminium framesets such as Italia RC Integrato so it doesn't look too far off the mark. Obviously if you dress any old frame up with Campag Record 13 wireless and some decent wheels the final price is going to be somewhere north of £5k.
@Freddy56 @hotspanners Hi, just for for starters I didn’t boycott the race, if you read to the end of the article you’d have seen that I decided I was going to attend and try and implement a positive change… Just for clarity, if it helps with the credibility of my words and something I didn’t include in the blog for brevity and fear of willy-waving here’s an incomprehensive list of cycle events I’ve helped organise over the years - all Brighton Big Dog MTB events (about 12 i think), three league CX races and one Singlespeed CX Euro Champs (niche, i know), a few SAMS MTB races - maybe three or four it was a while back now, a Morvelo City Cross, I’ve stood on a corner in a high-vis vest at quite a few MTB, CX and road races too, and just helped wind up tape at last weekend’s CX race. I’ve also had the privilege to design logos, draw images, and create one-off pieces of artwork and give away prints as prizes for enough races and events for me to forget how many, all for free as part of ‘doing my bit’… Also if you made it through to the second half of the article you’ll have read that I have every sympathy for event organisers because of the experience of all the above and also from having conversations with various organisers on a regular basis so I am acutely aware of all the challenges faced. I chatted today with the future local CX race organiser mentioned, face to face in a field, and he has a similar hatred of AI and is more than happy for me to create a hand-drawn image to promote that race and also help out on the ground where possible… Might even draw a duck in there somewhere for giggles…
@Borisface Not entirely sure why some alleged good times set in the last century validate the silliness and ignorance of your rejection on the grounds of materials and weight of a bike that the reviewer (who, if you look at his bio above, has rather a lot of experience himself, not only of riding bikes but of engineering too) describes as "absolute perfection in every aspect". Thanks for the unrequested permission but I'm not actually looking to spend 6k on a bike at the moment; if I was, on the basis of this review and the photographs I'd certainly be putting this on my shortlist and looking for a test ride. But then in this area at least I have an open mind, you see.
@Freddy56 as the article says, Jo boycotted our race because he thought we’d used AI to design our flyer. I’m with him 100% but he got the facts wrong. People don’t like AI slop. It’s lazy and generic. But you’re right - these grassroots events run off volunteering. I wave flags, design kit and artwork, ferry things to our lockup etc - perhaps Jo could be the change he wants to see. He could volunteer to the London and SE CX league that he races in to help them out with artwork - he created Mint Sauce!
Currently riding home powered by this for the last 6 months after someone stole my SeeSence beam, LOVE it. super durable and batter life gets me home on full beam for 55 minutes
Comments and an article by people who organise NOTHING! Promoting an event is mostly by volunteers and an AI poster done at midnight after sorting the British cycling insurance, the toilets, the Marshalls, the council and a landowner is so draining. The effort is massive for usually a small team. Grab a flag and help rather than moaning about a generated image...o look the image is eye catching so it must work .
I have Wizzard works bag from 2018 (bought for my 30th) and this is a complete rip off it!!
6 times division champion, 1st cat road man, semi-pro for 3 years. Sub 21 min 10 and sub 55 min 25 on a steel road bike. Forty five years riding. Forgotten more about riding bikes than most on here will ever know. If you want to pay £6k for an aluminium road by all means go ahead.
@Borisface Probably for the best, if you're as ignorant about bikes and materials as your comment suggests you wouldn't appreciate it anyway. Go and buy something on the UCI weight limit made out of the latest space age super carbon and wobble around on it looking daft and feeling uncomfortable and to hell with aesthetics, practicality and real-world use cases, at least you'll have the right numbers ("6.85 kg, awesome!") and words ("Yeah, it's UHM 12k carbon, actually") for the cafe. Enjoy!
16 thoughts on “Drama as winner of U23 World Champs road race disqualified; Operation Puerto back in the news; Junior rider left in tears after being left at the side of the road; Wiggo’s top five world champions; Peloton loses 11% of value on first day’s trading + more”
Such a shame, I feel for the
Such a shame, I feel for the lad. Who knows the reasons behind the tears, having come half way round the world to represent his country may not be the only cause. Sacrifices made by friends and family may have been helpful in his progress, that alone, feeling of letting people close to him down would be reason enough. I wish him the best for the future.
“German Dario Gomez Becerra
“German Dario Gomez Becerra burst into tears yesterday after being left at the side of the road following a mechanical.”
err, what, that German masquerading as a Colombian?
PP
Pilot Pete wrote:
It’s pronounced “Herman” but written “German”
DrG82 wrote:
hehehehe, my bad!
wow, Herman, German, who’d of thought it!
PP
Pilot Pete wrote:
Umm, German is part of his name.
It looked like he might do a Froomedog and finish the race on foot.
Bloody appalling that no one in the cars stopped to give him a wheel, given his position in the race and his age group. What happened to fair play?
I can’t begin to imagine how he’d have felt, after all that training and prep, the expense, then doing well in the race only to see it all going up in smoke.
PRSboy wrote:
Fair play is one of those antiquated unwritten rules that are redundant. Movistar ripped up the unwritten rulebook in the Vuelta so it’s “no gifts or favours” from now on (excluding bribes).
Brian Smith tweeted last night:
He explained in another tweet that in 1985 junior worlds he (Brian) crashed a borrowed bike on 1st lap, never got back to the front but managed to finish.
I’m not sure the lad would welcome the extra attention.
In the junior women’s race this morning several riders had either mechanical or puncture just after rolling out in the neutral zone. Are their mechanics on climate strike? One Italian rider spent quite some time chasing through the convoy (and it was a big convoy of cars) after a puncture. Probably using worn-out 10 y/o Vittoria tyres that the senior squad threw away.
Support vehicles that
Support vehicles that provided no support? What sort of japery is this? Same sort of as standing in the middle of road handing out bottles.
This worlds week has not been
This worlds week has not been the smoothest has it.. We’ve had: a focus on sock height, road flooding, general rider confusion, delayed start times, a shortened race, lots of off’s, a soigneur knocking off a rider, a rider riding into a marshal, and a few tears..
However, not to be too negative, we’ve also had two fantastic career-defining/affirming TT performances from Chloe Dygert and Rohan Dennis.. and we still have the best races to come! I’m really looking forward to Sunday!!
While I felt sorry for the
While I felt sorry for the lad and it was quite painfull to watch, everyone in racing, from youth level up has it drummed into them that it’s the riders responsibility to read the regs and know the rules for the race.
As well as it being in the race pack, at both the drivers briefing and the rider’s briefing everyone was told that service could only be done from the left. This is a safety issue. The cars in the convoy are required to follow the rules of the road in the country they are in, which in the UK means driving on the left. Service must be done from the passenger side as this protects both the mechanic (who sits in the back on the passenger side) and the riders (from drivers side doors being flung open or mechanics running accross the road).
The neutral service driver will be under strict instructions not to stop for riders looking for service on the right, and other team cars would do the same.
I know that in the heat of the moment, and being from Columbia he would be used to getting service on the right, but to be honest, he was lucky anyone stopped at all. If you watch the footage, the car that stopped, pulled over to the wrong side of the road to stop, effectively blocking any rider, outrider or car from passing the rest of the convoy as it went passed. He could easily have cut right accross in front of a rider making his way through the convoy.
Sorry it sounds harsh, but these rules are there for the safety of everyone. I am glad though that he gor it fixed and finished the race.
Alanlesoigneur wrote:
Educational, thanks. Highly likely this could be his first time Links Fahren, an easy mistake to make.
kil0ran wrote:
Educational, but wrong. Apparently, neutral service had been held back behind a later group as there wasn’t anywhere safe to pass, and his team car (which was shared other teams) was also further back dealing with another rider. The cars that passed him were from other teams, who likely weren’t aware of his predicament.
Another school in East Anglia
Another school in East Anglia banning kids found performing wheelies ‘to & from lessons’ https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/sprowston-community-academy-wheelie-stunts-cycle-ban-robust-action-1-6293539
However Archant have also put this clickbait article across all their main East Anglian regional papers ‘Are some cyclists just yobs in tight shorts?’ The EDP has the most feedback so far https://www.edp24.co.uk/features/if-cyclists-behaved-better-more-people-would-ride-bikes-1-6292884
stonojnr wrote:
I’ll take ‘things that never happened’ for ten, please
And perhaps if drivers din’t
And perhaps if drivers didn’t kill quite so many people by their dangerous driving and pollution there would be more drivers using motor vehicles.
Doesn’t quite work does it?
Excitement/controversy in the
Excitement/controversy in the under 23s men
CXR94Di2 wrote:
I think cycling needs a penalty review sometime soon. If they knew about what he’d done beforehand then they should be able to inform the rider, in race, they have a time penalty. It’s then up to rider to get that time back somehow, a bit like when Vettel got a 5s penalty and had the rest of the race to try and find that time back.
Good turnout despite the crap weather though.