G says overall peloton standard has gone up; Evenepoel, 20, sets 2020 alight; Froome returns to racing; World Bicycle Relief delivers 500,000th Buffalo Bike; Dowsett’s drug test dilemma; Vintage Poulidor ad; Free TdY climbs guide + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Alex Dowsett's drug test dilemma
Bet my morning has a bigger dilemma than yours..
Early drugs test. Naturally I went for a wee 5mins before the doorbell rung. So now we wait,I really need a 💩 but a wee not so much, rules are the tester needs to watch me wee & I can’t bring myself to do what you’re all thinking
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) February 19, 2020
For those that thought “too much information,” Twitter is for sharing
And for those wondering what you should be thinking, I will not poop in front of another man.
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) February 19, 2020
Success. Another day done where I haven’t had to poop in front of another person.
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) February 19, 2020
Brilliant vintage ad for Paris department store starring Raymond Poulidor
“You can really find everything at la Samaritaine,” is the tagline for this ad starring “The Eternal Second,” Raymond Poulidor.
« On trouve vraiment de tout à la Samaritaine ! »
Raymond Poulidor, 1971 pic.twitter.com/8xLQsAvGu6
— David Guénel (@davidguenel) February 19, 2020
Video: Pro cyclists doing core work and singing
Not only a cycling team… 😂🎵🎶#talentdevelopment pic.twitter.com/SRj5vHMRZx
— SEG Racing Academy (@segracing) February 20, 2020
Get a FREE copy of this year's Tour de Yorkshire Ride Climbs Guide by Simon Warren
Get your FREE Tour de Yorkshire Ride climbs guide by Simon Warren the author of the 100 climbs series – https://t.co/l70yF6FbN8#TDYRide pic.twitter.com/X9nH64tFYX
— Tour de Yorkshire 🚴 (@letouryorkshire) February 19, 2020
Geraint Thomas still working on some of the pro cycling basics
I don’t feel so bad forgetting my shoes at Sunday’s Rouken Glen CX now…. https://t.co/rMzXec7Jub
— Anth (@urbancyclist) February 19, 2020
London Bridge to close for waterproofing (cyclists can still use it)
London Bridge is to close to all traffic except buses, licensed taxis, pedestrians and cyclists from March 16 until October.
The work will see the original protective waterproofing layer below the road surface replaced, along with 24 bearings.
Cyclists will be able to use the bridge as usual throughout the works, although there will only be one lane open in each direction, shared with buses and licensed taxis.
Transport for London says “[Cyclists] may find they have a better journey by using a different route such as Southwark Bridge or travelling outside of the busiest times.”
They add that roads on the approaches to London Bridge north and south of the river will be busier than usual, especially at peak times on weekdays.
How's your German?
With the World Track Champs being held in Germany this year, the GB team has been brushing up on key phrases. Well, they’re key if you’re a track cyclist.
All we’ve ever needed is ‘drei bier, bitte’
World Bicycle Relief delivers 500,000th Buffalo Bike
As part of a 102-bike delivery to Bar Union Secondary School in Kakamega County near Kisumu, Western Kenya, World Bicycle Relief has delivered its 500,000th Buffalo Bike.
World Bicycle Relief delivers specially designed, locally assembled, rugged bicycles for people in developing nations.
Hackney councillor's 'zero emission vehicle' joke passes people by
This joke evidently isn’t clear enough not to get lost on people…🥴 https://t.co/eWGc7V3L7m
— Cllr Jon Burke (@jonburkeUK) February 19, 2020
Video: Camden motorist takes short cut down segregated cycle lane
This is a real problem junction. I’ve nearly been hit by black cabs forcing their way over the pavement here on multiple occasions. Two or three more bollards would fix it @CamdenCouncil
— Alec James (@AEWJ) February 20, 2020
If you’re wondering whether the driver felt at all guilty about doing this…
The drivers reaction! pic.twitter.com/ibCKCxmYIH
— cycleoptic (@cycleoptic) February 20, 2020
Chris Froome will return to racing at the UAE Tour this week
Froome said: “It’s all I’ve thought about for months now – being back racing. It will be a huge relief just to be back in the peloton again. It feels like I’ve been given a second chance to come back to pro racing after a crash like that. I’m definitely not taking that for granted.
“The year’s gone incredibly well so far but having said that I do still need to manage expectations. I’m still quite a way off where I was at the Dauphine before the crash. It’s going to take me a while to get back to that shape.”
Hackney councillor fails to appreciate a well-known difference between the UK and the Netherlands
Different Hackney councillor to the one earlier on.
This one’s Vincent Stops, who is apparently not averse to waging “a bitter Twitter battle with Hackney’s cycling community” according to the Hackney Post.
This is a nice “spot the logical fallacy” example: https://t.co/k5G1P0kArG
— Dr Mike Ward (@Schroedinger99) February 20, 2020
Caja Rural's rivals taken aback by rider's stage win in the Ruta del Sol
Caja Rural’s Gonzalo Serrano has surprised everyone (and himself, we guess) with an attack with 1.1km to go that stuck all the way to the line. 3rd place and another podium for @BahrainMcLaren‘s best-placed finisher @dylan_teuns. #66RdS #podium
— MeridaProRoadRacing (@MeridaProRoad) February 20, 2020
Will we still need walking and cycling routes in a world of autonomous vehicles?
According to Xavier Brice, the CEO of Sustrans, there two different futures are currently being imagined stemming from the arrival of autonomous vehicles.
“First up, a heaven, of easy mobility as portrayed by autonomous vehicle (AV) manufacturers, with shared-use AV freeing up road space for public spaces and accidents reduced to near zero. Or alternatively, a hellish, dystopian pod-world, with single-occupancy pod-armadas leading to an irresistible demand for more roads, and with people cloistered away in walkways and tunnels; Bladerunner but with added trees.”
He reckons the reality will turn out to be somewhere in between.
Either way, in a piece on City Metric, he argues that in a world of micro-mobility and driverless cars, we will still need dedicated space for the public to move under their own power.
Peloton as a whole ‘more professional’ than two years ago, says Geraint Thomas
Geraint Thomas feels that the general standard within the peloton has risen since he became Tour de France champion in 2018.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: “Early season races are so much quicker than they were even two years ago. The whole peloton is training better and they are more professional.”
The principle of induced demand in a cartoon
Finally!#InducedDemand pic.twitter.com/FxKuZuwcpg
— Urban Planning & Mobility (@urbanthoughts11) February 19, 2020
Trying to fix a car problem by widening the road is like fixing an obesity problem with a larger belt.
— artcopbob (@artcopbob) February 19, 2020
An early preview of the summit finish of Stage 15 of this year's Tour de France
❄ Are you ready to take on the Grand Colombier? 😉
💪 The local authorities are busy clearing the road.❄ Prêt à affronter le Grand Colombier ? 😉
💪 Les équipes du @Departement_AIN s’affairent pour dégager la route.#TDF2020📷 JFBasset / I.Delgorgue pic.twitter.com/qanbzpWrYg
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) February 20, 2020
Aussie champ Amanda Spratt gets Goat-o-bombed
It’s often said that cyclists with decent climbing ability are “mountain goats” … well, we don’t know if this one is of the mountain variety, but it certainly goat-o-bombed Australian women’s road champion Amanda Spratt of Mitchelton-Scott when she was out for a ride yesterday …
You may have to click on the pic to see the full image.
Well played, goat 🐐 pic.twitter.com/xGBXz87USX
— AmandaSpratt (@AmandaSpratt) February 19, 2020
20-year-old Evenepoel sets 2020 on fire with third win of season
The last year or two has seen an amazing bunch of youngsters break through into the men’s pro ranks … and while it’s early days in the 2020 season, it’s legitimate to ask whether Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel may be the best of the bunch.
Aged just 20, he notched up his third win of the season today at the Volta ao Algarve … and as you’ll see from the video below, he did it in some style.
What a talent.
Brutal Remco is brutal, madre mia! 😱 The wonder kid wins the uphill finish on Foia with a long sprint into the wind, crazy stuff. February is not over yet and Evenepoel already has 3 victories. God save us all. #VAlgarve2020 pic.twitter.com/o4cdSF54lF
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) February 20, 2020
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Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn’t especially like cake.
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Latest Comments
Were you worried that repeating the brand name might cause offence to some round here?
Streeting is a flippin' embarrassment and needs to stop aping Farage. The best thing he did was resign his cabinet position.
More cars in playgrounds, alas. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4eldkpxgwo
I'm not well versed on Streeting's political positions but I believe he's seen as more towards the "party of the motorist" (before Starmer piped up that no, Labour was) than many. Anyhoo, while I suspect he's just desperate to keep prominence in the political jockeying, it's still a bit sad to hear. As to numbers for the benefits of cycling I believe there are European studies which demonstrate investment in cycling delivers a net return, while further investment in driving is overall a net cost. (Was it this - The Social Cost of Automobility, Cycling and Walking in the European Union - Stefan Gössling, Andy Choi, Kaely Dekker Daniel Metzler?) Then some years back the UK government commissioned a report on the economic benefits of cycling and concluded that there were indeed benefits. Fiona Rajé and Andrew Saffrey - The Value of Cycling, DfT / University of Birmingham / Phil Jones Associates TfL has figures in: Walking and cycling: the economic benefits
I'm all for converting the unlawful scrotes into lawful ones, but a) that would appear to be an endless task which might simply absorb any (reasonable) resources thrown at it, and partly because b) where it's not manifestly clear that the illegal thing is really illegal AND people care about it, the continuum from the "outlaw and don't care" via the "yeah it's illegal but everyone's doing it" to the "but I hardly ever / I didn't know I was doing wrong" may be towards the latter end and thus we have far more offenders to deal with. I hope amending the law in this case pushes mean away from "but you can buy it in Currys/PC world how was I to know?" end and perhaps that makes this illegal behaviour a bit less prevalent. Eventually... (I don't know if the forthcoming law changes are necessarily the *best* ... and it isn't the greatest issue we face. OTOH this appears to be a lot more useful harm reduction than stopping cyclists and handing out cheap lights or creating the "death by dangerous cycling" legislation - though I'm not *against* that...)
As for the crankset, [snip] is available in 265mm to 175mm lengths. Finally! Long cranks, although ground clearance maybe an issue
On the subject of rust - an ode to the shed bike: https://soundcloud.com/friko-music/dear-bicycle
I can't remember the figures, but I believe there is a significant return on investment when active travel is well funded and good infrastructure is put in place. Dare I say that, given Streeting's previous role in the nation's health, he is using taco-trumpian logic/numbers to justify his current "position"?
More political BS. It's not "there's not enough money for defence" it's "there's not enough money for an increase in spending of more than £6bn in one year on defence". And that follows similar increases in previous years. Compared to a total active travel budget of £0.9bn per year.
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?"
7 thoughts on “G says overall peloton standard has gone up; Evenepoel, 20, sets 2020 alight; Froome returns to racing; World Bicycle Relief delivers 500,000th Buffalo Bike; Dowsett’s drug test dilemma; Vintage Poulidor ad; Free TdY climbs guide + more on the live blog”
Love the Poulidor advert
Love the Poulidor advert 🙂 😉
Me too
Me too 😉
I lived in France for over 20
I lived in France for over 20 years up till 2013 and Raymond Poulidor was on the tele everyday of the TDF as a pundit. He was such a lovely bloke and so knowledgeable about the pro cycling scene. He was very humble too.
Would be better if the German
Would be better if the German was actually correct!
So I went to CityMetric to
So I went to CityMetric to read the Sustrans article on the future and came across an excellent article by someone called Laura Laker about killer drivers on pavements-
https://www.citymetric.com/transport/think-roads-are-dangerous-sometimes-we-aren-t-even-safe-pavements-4934
So is G implying doping is
So is G implying doping is back in a big way?
I really can’t imagine there being any new training techniques to have improved the riders by any real measure the last 2 years…wasnt marginal gains all about finding a load of tiny improvements because all the big or basic stuff was well understood and known about?
Or does he mean theres been an influx of new, impressive young talent?
The knowledge of the training
The knowledge of the training may have been around for a while, but actually getting riders to do it all is probably more tricky, when riders can do ok without dedicating their entire lives to training. It seems like everyone is now embracing new training more, so that the ‘domestiques’ on teams are probably in better shape than many team leaders from a decade or two ago.