Welcome to the penultimate road.cc live blog of the decade with Simon MacMichael and the rest of the road.cc team.
Banged Up Abroad – NZ Olympic medallist locked up in Thailand for coaching without visa; Sheffield bike shop ram-raided twice in 48 hours; Darwin Award video; Gong for man who gave Wiggins, Cav & co first taste of racing abroad + more on the Live Blog
All today’s news from the site and beyond
Mon, Dec 30, 2019 20:38
SUMMARY
30 December 2019, 20:38
Some stories you may have missed at the weekend
Met Police seize 30 rickshaws modified with motors
York cyclists petition for two-way cycling on one-way streets
Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross founder John Rawnsley dies at 81
British women looking to set tandem round-the-world record
Near Miss of the Day 345: Lorry driver in ultra-close pass (includes swearing)
Boris Johnson wanted a bicycle for Christmas – he got a dirt bike instead
Police in Dublin find more than 100 stolen bikes worth €250,000
30 December 2019, 20:38
Take a look at Mathieu van der Poel's custom Fortnite-themed shoes
It would be a shame to get them muddy, really …
30 December 2019, 20:38
Jeff Goldblum rides in a wind tunnel for his TV show
Jurassic Park and Independence Day star Jeff Golblum hasn’t ridden a bike since he was a kid – but he has taken to two wheels for the latest episode of his Disney+ show, The World According to Jeff Goldblum.
The episode, called Bikes, sees the actor try out a BMX track in San Jose, California, before heading to Specialized’s Morgan Hill headquarters where, in a wind tunnel, he learns all about the importance of aerodynamics with the help of lab director Chris Yu, as shown in this trailer.
“I feel sleek as a panther,” says Goldblum as he switches to Lycra after earlier trying out the wind tunnel in normal clothes, jacket dragging behind him.
Finally, the 67-year-old heads to Detroit, where he takes part in the weekly Slow Roll ride, which attracts as many as 5,000 cyclists. Goldblum visits local bike maker Detroit Bikes to pick up the bike he uses for the ride – and, apparently bitten by the cycling bug, gets to keep it afterwards.
30 December 2019, 20:38
What a 2019 Mathieu van der Poel has had
Recap of @mathieuvdpoel 2019 season
CX: W/W/W/W/W/W/W/W/W/W/W/W
Road: W/16/67/16/DNF/W/4/W/4/W/14/23/5/W/W
MTB: W/W/2/W/W/W/16/W/W/W/W
Road: W/2/32/23/4/17/2/W/14/6/W/W/19/43/12/6
CX: W/W/W/W/W/W/W/W/W/3/W/W/W/W/W/W69 racedays
46 victories (45 'stages' + Tour of Britain GC) pic.twitter.com/L5lDIxYlO5— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) December 29, 2019
30 December 2019, 20:38
Team Ineos stars join Welsh club run over Christmas
Lovely gesture by Geraint Thomas, Luke Rowe and Owain Doull. Everyone starts somewhere, and it’s great to see they haven’t forgotten their roots.
At our live show on Friday @LukeRowe1990 offered to go out for a ride with a young lad who needed a bit of help with descending.
This morning they headed out with @GeraintThomas86, @owaindoull and 40 riders from local clubs for a lap of Cwmcarn. Proper pic.twitter.com/zQXltDBtjp
— Watts Occurring (@Watts_Occurring) December 29, 2019
30 December 2019, 20:38
Great reply from Thomas De Gendt
It’s worth clicking through on the Pro Cycling Stats tweet too, some surprising findings there.
If you race a lot, you don’t have to train that much. pic.twitter.com/LA8I9HLtXE
— Thomas De Gendt (@DeGendtThomas) December 29, 2019
30 December 2019, 20:38
British Empire Medal for John Barclay, who gave many of today's stars their first taste of racing on the Continent
A volunteer who has helped some of the Britain’s top cyclists get their first tace of racing on the Continent has been recognised in the New Year’s Honours List through being awarded the British Empire Medal.
John Barclay has been organising trips to France and the Low Countries for up-and-coming cyclists for almost five decades, giving up his own time and money to do so.
Among those who have benefitted from such trips, according to British Cycling, are Sir Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, David Millar, Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard and Adam Blythe.
Thomas, winner of the 2018 Tour de France, said: “John played a key role in my early racing career. As a junior he would take a group of us over to Belgium most weekends.
“It opened my eyes to what racing was truly about. Not just with the intensity of the races but the tactics and whole atmosphere of them. In those days you couldn’t compare the racing abroad to that back in the UK.
“He did it all off his own back, with rarely any thanks. It was purely for the love of the sport and helping us out.
“Those races as a junior really brought me on as a bike rider and set me up for later in my career. He deserves every bit of the recognition he gets.”
30 December 2019, 20:38
Yet more evidence that cycle lanes don't harm businesses - they benefit them
The latest evidence that #bikelanes are good for business. A Toronto study supports what other cities have found: trading street #parking for a bike lane doesn’t hurt the local economy, and often helps https://t.co/xTYeRSv7kP @Medium #cycling #econdev #completestreets #planning pic.twitter.com/AGOzkJws8Q
— TCRPC (@TCRPC) December 30, 2019
30 December 2019, 20:38
More info on just how Geraint Thomas, Luke Rowe and Owain Doull ended up riding with a bunch of youngsters in Wales
Here’s the background to how Team Ineos stars Geraint Thomas, Luke Rowe and Owain Doull ended up going for a post-Christmas ride with some youngsters from Cardiff – lovely stuff.
30 December 2019, 20:38
Sheffield bike shop ram-raided twice in 48 hours
A Sheffield bike shop that next year celebrates its 130th anniversary was ram-raided twice inside 48 hours in the days before Christmas.
In the first incident, at around 4.14am on Sunday 22 December, a silver Ford Focus car was reveresed into the front of Langsett Cycles on Infirmary Road, reports The Star.
The newspaper reports that a number of high-end mountain bikes were taken, as well as a cancer charity collection box.
The shop, founded in 1890, was targeted again on the evening of Monday 23 December, with police called to the premises at 11.05pm. On that occasion, it is believed that the ram-raiders fled the scene empty-handed.
Shop owner Andrew Elston said: “It is just so disappointing. It is no secret that retail is having a tough time at the moment and this feels like a hammer blow.
“We have survived two world wars and the Super Tram being put right outside our shop, but things are as difficult now as ever.
“The shop is 130 years old in 2020. We were planning on celebrating with lots of special events.
“Having a sale of damaged stock in January was not in those plans.”
Anyone who has information is requested to contact police on 101.
30 December 2019, 20:38
Domenico Pozzovivo signs for NTT Pro Cycling
Domenico Pozzovivo has signed for NTT Pro Cycling on a two-year contract. The Italian joins the South African team from fellow UCI WorldTour outfit Bahrain-Merida.
A stage winner at the Giro d’Italia and twice a top-five overall finisher at that race, the 37-year-old has been out of action since August when he sustained a broken arm, leg and ribs when he was hit by a driver while out on a training ride.
30 December 2019, 20:38
Banged Up Abroad: NZ Olympic medallist locked up in Thailand for illegal coaching
A double Olympic medal-winning cyclist from New Zealand has spoken of how he spent four nights in an immigration detention centre in Thailand following allegations he was working illegally as a coach at an indoor cycling studio.
The NZ Herald reports that Marc Ryan, who won bronze medals in the team pursuit at the Beijing 2008 and London 2014 Olympics, was arrested in Bangkok on 9 December.
The 37-year-old was accused by immigration officials of breaching his visa by working at the Bangkok Get Fit cycling studio, with their raid coming after a tip-off that foreigners were working there illegally as coaches.
Ryan moved to Thailand on a working visa two years ago after completing a coaching course at the UCI World Cycling Centre. However, he had to apply for a fresh visa earlier this year after switching jobs, and at the time of his arrest was on a non-immigrant B visa, under which he was not allowed to work, while waiting for his working visa.
He was taken to an immigration detention centre where he shared a cell with six other detainees, sleeping on the floor.
He told the NZ Herald: “It was like a jail and the first two nights were bad. I was lucky to get out. Some people had been in there a long time.”
He was fined 5,000 baht (£127) and spent another night in the cells – this one holding between 70 and 80 people, sharing just two toilets – before being deported.
He is unsure whether he will return to Thailand, despite having a girlfriend there, saying: “Money basically talks there.”
30 December 2019, 20:38
"I had a crash today." "Oh dear. But how was the bike?" "Erm ... "
Hold my beer while I ride down this mountain.
(via @AlaskanCourtney) pic.twitter.com/6MV4E4wZ1c— Darwin Award (@AwardsDarwin) December 30, 2019
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Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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Latest Comments
Mr Blackbird 8 minutes ago
Re the mobility scooter / road race incident. What are the chances of the Daily Telegraph running with this one? : "Disabled Pensioner Mowed Down By 85mph Speeding Cyclists." "How many more pensioners must be killed or injured before number plates and insurance are made mandatory for cyclists, asked Nigel Farage, from his £5m crypto donation enquiry hideout?"
mctrials23 16 minutes ago
I mean, they could probably just only sell them to people with legitimate licenses for the ebike they are selling them. ie. they have passed their motorbike test. Worrying about private land proof etc just sounds like a nightmare and a huge amount of work. People would be saying "oh yeah, this ebike is just to ride at my local dirt bike track". Link the purchase to the buyers license and if they want to sell it, they have to sell it to another licensed rider. I think the core issue is perhaps the delivery riders however. I see a tiny proportion of them with what I would think is a legal ebike. Most of them are going way over 15.5mph and many of them don't even have to pedal to work them.
hawkinspeter 24 minutes ago
@Pub bike - stating "the scrotes will find a way around any rules regardless" is pretty much agreeing with me that introducing new rules around the sale/purchase is the wrong way to tackle the issue. With sufficient traffic policing, the scrotes will get nicked, whereas introducing additional rules is pointless without increasing the enforcement.
Pub bike 1 hour ago
@hawkinspeter The scrotes will find a way around any rules regardless. I frequently see riders speeding along with bicycles with enormous motors in the rear wheels where the chainsets have been removed altogether and foot rests have been installed into the bottom bracket. The bill being introduced under the 10 minute rule is about the marketing, sale and supply of them including conversion kits. I suspect it will be difficult to write a bill that simultaneously allows the sale of motorbikes whether electrically powered or not for private off-road use whilst restricting them for on-road use. Better surely to make it really hard to buy any kind of motorbike without it being registered with the DVLA and the keeper having the correct licence and insurance. But the police need play their part as well in stopping the riders and confiscating what they are riding. It is not like they are difficult to spot.
Skiprider 1 hour ago
What "tougher regulation"? The clue is in the name: these things are illegal (and, I agree, an absolute menace).
AndyPara 1 hour ago
Thanks for the excellent review - I know it's just one Google search away, but I think any bike review in this day and age should include max tyre clearance.
steve1968smith 2 hours ago
Yesterday, I organised "On Your Bike", a christening of this new cycle spine from Pittville to Bishops Cleeve. Between 11.30 and 14.30, we recorded 539 cyclists using this cycle path whilst the car boot was still busy. Everybody was kept safe and moving by the car boot sale's excellent stewards. I don't see any risk to users of the bike path. I also think its an excellent opportunity for cyclists and other road users to rub shoulders in a positive and friendly way. I cannot see why a cycling community would want to try and stir and stoke friction with an article like this.
Paul J 2 hours ago
"I know in NL they have trialled semi-portable “test stations” to check max motor speeds." Worth noting, the dutch police have long had dynos to test mopeds for power/speed limits. Maybe generally kept at the station usually. But the newer portable ones do not look very different from the one my own moped got tested on at a station in the 90s.
Rendel Harris 2 hours ago
@mctrials23 I agree, these illegal electric motorcycles have considerable advantages for the ne'er-do-well over there more traditional weapon of two-stroke dirt bikes, as you say, easier to store, you could get one up to a flat in a high-rise building easily which you couldn't do with a petrol-powered motorcycle, easy and much cheaper to fuel from any home power socket, no going down the petrol station and risking being caught, way less maintenance, if you can look after a pushbike you can look after one of these, and they are even silent so you can smash them around the woods and recreation grounds without people calling the police having heard the noise. Personally I would say a ban on sales of full-on electric motorcycles like Surrons to anyone who can't provide justification for use, e.g. farmers and other people who demonstrably have enough private land to use them, would be perfectly appropriate.
hawkinspeter 2 hours ago
Adding regulations on the sale of e-bikes simply adds to the enforcement requirement. Meanwhile, increasing (or starting) traffic policing also works to catch a lot of criminal/distracted drivers as well as finding cloned plates etc. If police catch and confiscate a lot of illegal e-motorbikes, then people are going to be less confident of riding them on the roads - it's the current situation of next to no enforcement that creates the environment where people can get away with dangerous riding/driving. To be honest, the bigger problem is still drivers and congestion, so illegal e-motorbikes can be seen as harm reduction, despite the collisions.
5 thoughts on “Banged Up Abroad – NZ Olympic medallist locked up in Thailand for coaching without visa; Sheffield bike shop ram-raided twice in 48 hours; Darwin Award video; Gong for man who gave Wiggins, Cav & co first taste of racing abroad + more on the Live Blog”
Cwmcarn is just up the road
Cwmcarn is just up the road from Wattsville.
Opportunity missed for some serious punnage.
break the regulations of
break the regulations of working without the correct authorisation to do so, expect to get banged up just as you might anywhere else in the world. deliberately breaching the regs so got everything he deserved, now won’t get let back into the country I bet, stupid boy, if only you’d done things properly!
Typical of too many hat wearing cyclists, put a helmet on and then go play in an area you clearly have nowhere near enough experience of being able to stay safe in, ridiculously lucky not to be following the bike down the side of the ravine and likely a broken neck, legs etc!
The thing that annoys e about the gongs is that high end sportspeople are getting the highest awards simply for doing their jobs very well and getting paid handsomely for doing so, meanwhil, the likes of Barclay and so many others dedicate a lifetime to helping others on a pittance and barely get a mention or a much lower level recognition.
Active sportspersons should NEVER get into the nhonours list, once they’ve retired and done work within their community or for charitable based orgs then you can start handing out awards for serivces to whatever it is.
All went downhill after Kelly Holmes got a gong for winning two races at the Olympics, just ridiculously over the top! Recogn ise the effort but they are rewarded enough surely without giving them civil awards for doing actually nothing for society/communities.
CyclingInBeastMode wrote:
Guess who got cocaine for Christmas?
Kids, don’t do drugs.
billymansell wrote:
Aye.
Sure it’s that Behind the Bikesheds bloke again. Tiresome as fuck the first time around. On and on and on and on about the same old shite.
Not much more interesting reincarnated. Zzz
As a former member of the
As a former member of the Festival, I was aware of John Barclays work in taking young riders to Belgium and was staggered as to how many years he had done so. Chapeau JB!
He is also good with wheels.