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11-year-old has ridden bike to school every day for 6 years; Promising U23 pro's statement on quitting; Team car runs over bottle + sprays rider; Aus bike lane ripped up for 'causing congestion'; Driver says cyclist was doing 60mph + more on the live blog

Wednesday's live blog is served to you by Jack Sexty this morning and through the afternoon, with Simon MacMichael rustling up your evening course later on...
Wed, Feb 26, 2020 09:04
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26 February 2020, 16:58
11-year-old from South Dakota has ridden his bike to school every day for six years, and is approaching 1000 days on the bounce

road.cc were alerted to this midweek good news story from a forum post on Slowtwitch, in which proud dad Dan Linde asked fellow forum members for help in getting his 11-year-old son Bodhi recognised for his remarkable streak of riding to school and back, every day without fail for six years during term-time. 

The Linde family are from South Dakota - notorious for its brutal winters - but Mr Linde tells us Bodhi has not used a motorised vehicle to get to school once since he started kindergarten at the age of four. In late March, Bodhi will reach 1000 days on the trot. 

Mr Linde told road.cc: "We live two miles from school so the miles have racked up over the years - last winter was especially tough up here in South Dakota.

"He's been quite an inspiration for the local riding community as he never complains and always rides no matter what the weather. He also plays a couple musical instruments so he had to come up with inventive ways to haul his instruments to school."

If you've been moaning about Ciara, Dennis or whatever relatively mild weather event we've been experiencing in the UK recently stopping you from riding your bike, let young Bohdi be your inspiration!

 

Thanks to CEO of Parcours wheels Dov Tate for alerting us to the Slowtwitch thread.

26 February 2020, 16:15
"The training has become a daily grind": Promising GB U23 academy rider posts heartfelt statement on quitting elite cycling

If there are any budding young cyclists (or their parents) reading this who think being a pro is a blast 100% of the time, Adam Hartley's statement posted to Twitter in the last hour might give you food for thought. 

The 21-year-old - who broke the British Junior 10 mile TT record in 2016 - said that training had become a "daily grind", and his enthusiasm to continue a career in the sport has waned over time. 

He said: "I stayed with GB for two seasons and had some great albeit tough moments in races such as the Tour of Yorkshire and Tour of Britain, but I also faced some serious setbacks and challenges which made me realise that the sport of cycling is incredibly tough, unforgiving, and certainly not sunshine and flowers. Success is hard fought and not a regular occurrence! 

"The training has become a daily grind, and the lifestyle has been dragging me down. I feel like I am living in a world when I'm trying to perform at the highest level and living the elite athlete lifestyle. 

"In recent months I've spent long periods away from home and I've been able to reconcile my thoughts and the desire to step away from cycling has increased. Basically, I've decided I no longer want to pursue a professional career in cycling."

26 February 2020, 15:38
Danes break pursuit world record on first day of the Track World Championships

That didn't take long... the Danish team have smashed the previous record set by the Australian team last year with a time of 3:46.579. 

The Team GB quartet of Ed Clancy, Ethan Hayter, Charlie Tanfield and Ollie Wood clocked 3:50.341, but are already out of gold medal contention after the qualifying session. 

Britain's women fared better, setting the second-fastest time of the day behind the USA.  

26 February 2020, 16:38
Track World Champs: where to watch and when

If you fancy catching some of the action between today and the 1st March, coverage will be spread across the BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app, and it will also be broadcast on BBC Four (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) and BBC Two (Saturday and Sunday). For a full list of times, dates and channels, check the BBC website here.  

26 February 2020, 13:14
"Are you Hagen a laugh?"Lotto Soudal's Carl Fredrik Hagen sprayed by team car running over a water bottle at UAE Tour

When you've just crashed hard this is the definition of kicking a man while he's down, as Carl Fredrik Hagen is sprayed by a bottle as a team car unwittingly drives over it. Although with temperatures reaching the 40's (in Celsius) at the UAE Tour this week, it might actually have been pretty refreshing for the Norwegian... 

26 February 2020, 15:23
Another track bike drops as Viviani reveals new De Rosa for the World Champs

This one has a pretty unique-looking stem teamed with Campagnolo wheels and drivetrain, and will be ridden by the Italian at the UCI Track World Championships this week. Scroll down to see the Australian team's new Argon 18 Electron Pro. 

26 February 2020, 14:18
Vitus goes big on electronic shifting in 2020 road bike range

Vitus has introduced several new models for 2020, all of them with electronic shifting from Shimano and SRAM and based around existing frame platforms: Vitesse EVO, ZX-1 and Zenium Carbon.

Check them out here.

26 February 2020, 13:45
Humble Chris Froome straightens new teammate Andrey Amador's race number

The four-time Tour de France champ was pictured giving the Costa Rican a helping hand ahead of today's UAE Tour stage. We're still not too sure how Amador is permitted to ride yet due to the UCI's mid-season transfer rules, but we can only assume the matter was resolved; Team Ineos declined to comment when we enquired. 

26 February 2020, 13:27
'Shared footway' and 'please dismount' signs, together in not-so-perfect harmony

A strange pairing indeed... spotted by Joe Dunckley in Bristol, "where Cumberland Road and the chocolate path fell in the river" so we're told. 

26 February 2020, 13:00
Local authority cycle spending just £2 a head in England, finds study

Nottingham Trent University made freedom of information requests to 55 English Unitary Authorities about their cycling infrastructure project spends and just 25 provided data, according to Cycling Industry News. Of the 25 who did reply the average spend per head of population was £2.02, with some going years without spending anything at all on cycling projects. A full story on this will follow later today. 

26 February 2020, 12:06
A city council in Australia will spend $2 million ripping up part of $8 million cycle lane because it was 'causing too much congestion'

The council for the city of Geelong in the Australian state of Victoria has decided to rip up part of an $8 million 'green spine' designed to protect cyclists at a cost of $2 million... because it was deemed to be causing too much congestion. 

ABC reports that the council narrowly voted to partially change the tree-lined street in central Geelong with 6 votes for and 5 against, with Mayor Stephanie Asher saying the separate bike lanes were adding to traffic congestion. State MPs from all three of Australia's major parties have slammed the decision, with Lisa Neville MP threatening to take future funding away from the council.

The 200m stretch of 'green spine' in Malop Street removed some parking spaces and lanes for cars to turn in and replaced them with two bike lanes, a seating area and garden​, but the costly overturn will see one bike lane removed and car parking spaces reintroduced. 

Ms Neville has even threatened to make the street a state road to prevent the council from ripping it up, saying: "We spent the $8 million of taxpayers' money and now they are about to spend $2 million to rip it up — it's unacceptable. 

"Everything is on the table to make sure that they cannot overturn a decision that they supported every step of the way."

In the tweet at the top of the post Dr Fiona Gray, who oversaw the project, said: "No infrastructure project is ever perfect and there are undoubtedly ways in which the Green Spine can be improved. But still I fail to understand why my 10 years of education and 20 years of practice in the fields of urban design, architecture and place making was treated with such disregard and even contempt by elected lay people. If only I had known that being elected to Council was a means of automatically becoming an expert on such matters, I could have saved myself an extraordinary amount of time, effort and expense in acquiring the skills and knowledge that other government orgs, NFPs and private sector clients engage me to provide.

"Finally, all of this just makes me sad because the Geelong community deserves so much better."

26 February 2020, 12:43
Meanwhile, experts are calling for cycling superhighways in the state of Victoria

While Geelong's city council have voted to rip up 200m of cycle lane, infrastructure experts have argued that miles of cycling superhighways should be built in the state of Victoria to ease congestion and provide safe routes for cyclists. 

Australia's infrastructure advisory body has backed the plans, which would see superhighways stretching from the Melbourne suburbs to the city centre. Infrastructure Australia's priorities list says they should be built within five years, reports ABC.

Infrastructure Australia's chief executive Romilly Madew said: "There are some great health advantages of cycling ways, there's also some congestion-busting examples as well, because if we can get more people who can safely cycle in our CBDs (central business districts), that'll be taking cars off the road and there'll be less crowding on our public transport.

"So it's really about identifying what are the possible pathways around Melbourne's CDB that could be identified for a cycling superhighway."​

26 February 2020, 11:59
eBikeLabs launch upgraded anti-theft system to stop thieves targeting e-bike sharing schemes

The eBikeLabs system pairs the motor and battery uniquely, so the bike won't work and the battery can't be sold on if a thief tries to steal a bike. Full story over on eBikeTips.

26 February 2020, 10:31
"If I could go at 60mph, I'd be in the Olympics": US driver attempts to sue cyclist he knocked over, claiming he was riding at 60mph

Only in America, as they say - as the Rochester City Newspaper report that a driver who rear-ended a cyclist had the audacity to sue for damage to his vehicle... and claimed the incident happened because the cyclist was riding at 60mph and "came out of nowhere."

Bryan Agnello was cycling home in Rochester, NY last month when he was struck from behind, leaving a mangled bike and Agnello heading to hospital mostly with minor injuries. A month later he received a notice from Rochester City Court stating that the driver Jovonte Cook had filed a $700 claim against him for damage to the vehicle. 

“I felt like I just got punched in the gut again. It was painful. I was angry”, said Agnello. 

Agnello claimed Cook hit him as he slowed down to make a left-hand turn, but Cook's version of events differed wildly: he said that Agnello was riding his bike "at about 60mph" and "came out of nowhere and splashed on my front windshield". He says he didn't see Agnello because of the bad weather. When asked if he thought it was possible a cyclist could be riding at 60mph, Cook told the City Newspaper over the phone: “Of course, depending on if it’s an expensive bike.”  

Agnello commented: “If I could go 60 mph I wouldn’t be here, I’d be in the Olympics", while an attorney advising him in the case said “there is no legal basis for this ridiculous claim.”  

Cook and Agnello are scheduled to appear before a City Court judge on March 25, with Agenello saying he wants drivers to pay better attention to their surroundings and have more respect for cyclists. He is counterclaiming for $2,500 to cover the cost of his destroyed bike and time spent recovering, but says he would settle for Cook dropping the claim. 

“I’m not about this stuff. This is not me at all. I just want to ride my bike”, said Angello. 

26 February 2020, 08:54
Cycling Australia's Argon 18 Electron Pro track bike officially unveiled

We saw teasers last week, and now the Australian national track team have officially revealed all the details of the track bike they will be using at Tokyo 2020.The Electron Pro is the result of two years' research and development, a joint effort from Cycling Australia, Zipp, Monash University and the University of Adelaide. 

They say the fork drag has been reduced by 30% compared to the previous Electron Pro, and further aero gains have been made for each individual rider by speccing custom-moulded sprint handlebars and pursuit extensions and optimising rider position. The wheels are custom-designed Zipp Super-9 Tubular Track Disc, and the bike also features an integrated timing chip. 

What do you reckon compared to the cutting-edge Hope/Lotus track bike that the British squad will use in Tokyo? Check that bike out in more detail here. 

26 February 2020, 09:08
Californian Cadillac driver hit cyclist and carried on with injured rider atop of his roof

The Lincoln Fire Service say the injured cyclist was atop of the car for a quarter of a mile before somebody notified the 85-year-old driver, who wasn't aware he'd hit someone according to the police quoted in the Sacramento Bee. 

The cyclist was taken to hospital, abd although the driver was reported to 'not appear intoxicated' the officer on scene placed a request for re-examination on his behalf.

Jack Sexty

After cobbling together a few hundred quid during his student days off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story), Jack bought his first road bike at the age of 20 and has been hooked ever since. He was Staff Writer at 220 Triathlon magazine for two years before joining road.cc in 2017, and reports on all things tech as well as editing the road.cc live blog. He is also the news editor of our electric-powered sister site eBikeTips. Jack's preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking (the latter being another long story), and on Sunday afternoons he can often be found on an M5 service station indulging in his favourite post-race meal of 20 chicken nuggets, a sausage roll, caramel shortbread and a large strawberry milkshake. 

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