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Video – “Rentacop” armed NYC security guard wrestles cyclist to ground; Paris-Brest-Paris rider posts terrific ABC guide to event; Danish men smash team pursuit world record again; Top Candid Camera bike prank + more on live blog

Today's live blog with Alex Bowden (daytime) and Simon MacMichael (evening)...
27 February 2020, 20:14
Danish men smash team pursuit world record AGAIN as they take gold

The Danish quartet have this evening taken the record below 3 minutes 45 seconds having bossed the event from start to finish in Berlin.

Team GB's men have won the team pursuit at the past three Olympics ... is that dominance set to end in Tokyo?

27 February 2020, 19:56
A terrific Paris-Brest-Paris ABC

To armchair sports fans, four-year cycles mean an Olympic Games or World Cup is taking place. To the Audax community, it means something else entirely - Paris-Brest-Paris.

Petrer Marshall rode it for the fourth time last year and has produced a terrific ABC to the event.

Flagged up by Mason Cycles - he was riding one of their bikes on it - it's a hugely entertaining read, so brew a cuppa, pull up a chair and dig in here.

27 February 2020, 18:09
Video: Armed security wrestles NYC cyclist to ground (with lots of swearing)

An armed security guard in New York City who got into a heated argument with a motorized unicycle rider after stepping out in front of him to cross the cycle lane he was riding on was filmed grabbing another cyclist and pulling him off his bike.

The incident took place on Manhattan’s Sixth Avenue on Tuesday evening, reports Streetsblog NYC. Motorised unicycle rider Vincenzo Tran, who had to swerve to avoid hitting the security guard, filmed their subsequent exchange after the man started shouting and hurling racial abuse at him.

“This is a bike path,” he said. “You stepped the f*ck out looking at your phone like a f*cking piece of shit.”

The security guard, whose vehicle bore the logo of New Jersey based Harvard Security, said: “Listen to me, I had the right of way to go. You have to watch out for me. You almost hit me,” as the argument continued, becoming increasingly heated.

He then grabbed a cyclist who was riding past, wrestling him to the ground (and exposing the handgun he was carrying in a waist holster), with one bystander telling the security guard, “That’s a young ass kid what’s wrong with you?”

Other cyclists intervened just as it seemed the guard was about to punch the one he had grabbed.

Tran said: “The kid was crying and he took off.” The security guard also made off after Tran threatened to call the police – although its subsequently transpired that in the past three and a half months, the car he was driving has been the subject of nine tickets for infractions including parking offences.

27 February 2020, 16:25
Video: Candid Camera bike prank

The REM poster seems to indicate this was shot in 1989 and it has to be said, the build-up seems absurdly pedestrian by modern standards.

It’s a real mind-bender for the poor cyclist though.

27 February 2020, 16:22
Euskaltel-Euskadi are back

Cycling News reports that ProTeam Fundación-Orbea have announced that the Basque telecommunications company has agreed to join the team as a main sponsor for four years.

They’ll be Euskaltel-Euskadi from the Tour of the Basque Country in April – and they’ll wear orange.

The previous incarnation of Euskaltel-Euskadi raced between 1998 and 2013 and drew its entire squad from the Basque Country.

27 February 2020, 15:40
London's CS3 and CS6 hit combined landmark for 2020

Bit contrived, but still impressive.

27 February 2020, 15:37
Omloop weather report

Definitely not Tenerife-type conditions.

27 February 2020, 15:29
27 February 2020, 15:29
No Mathieu van der Poel for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

No MVDP for OHN.

What odds on a Wout Van Aert victory? He reportedly took a Strava KOM off Chris Froome in Tenerife this week. He probably shouldn't expect Tenerife conditions for the race though.

27 February 2020, 14:35
Alexey Lutsenko plucks defeat from the jaws of victory at the UAE Tour

Stage 5 finished atop Jebel Hafeet (same as Stage 3 did) and Alexey Lutsenko somehow managed to finish second despite rounding the final corner in a very advantageous position, Tadej Podacar nipping round him to win by a nose.

It’s interesting to ponder at exactly which moment Lutsenko realised he hadn’t won.

Seems to us it was about a nanosecond after he started celebrating.

Adam Yates is still in the red jersey thanks to the larger time gaps when they went up this climb a couple of days ago.

We’re very fond of Adam, but speaking at the finish he rather justified our belief that he’s the kind of sportsman who says, ‘it is what it is.’

“It's pretty much mission accomplished,” he said. “I would have loved to win but in the end it is what it is. I fought the right guys. I still have the leader's jersey so it's a good day. It was the same climb as two days ago so it's not a surprise to have the same four guys at the front. Pogacar is impressive. He's young so we'll see him winning races again.”

27 February 2020, 12:12
Valencia Cyclery (via StreetView)
San Francisco bike shop owner opposes car ban

Paul Olszewski, the owner of Valencia Cyclery, wrote to the San Francisco Chronicle earlier this month complaining of plans to ban cars from the street his shop is on.

He reckons that if cars were banned from Valencia Street, he would probably have to close.

“Most of our new bike customers drive here and return home with their new bike in their car,” he said.

“This is especially true for children’s bikes. Likewise, a lot of bicycles in need of repair are not rideable, and are driven here to be fixed.

“Parking on the street has gotten prohibitively expensive and harder to find. Many parking spaces are taken by the banks of share-rental bikes and parklets. It seems that our bike lane will soon become a “protected bike lane,” which inevitably results in even more spaces lost.

“If the city is truly interested in keeping small businesses, especially legacy businesses, alive and well, then there needs to be a balanced use of our public streets.”

Locals say Olszewski has never been much of a fan of cycle infrastructure on his street.

Valencia Street meets Market Street at its northern end where a car ban is already in place.

Barry Grosfield, who runs Huckleberry Bikes on Market Street, told Streets Blog that while Olszewski could expect to lose a handful of customers, “you just get a new batch of people who uses buses, bikes, BART [San Francisco’s local railway system] – you don’t have to worry about parking.”

Kash, the owner of Warm Planet Bikes on the same street, said that anything that makes it safer and more comfortable for cyclists will get more people – especially families – cycling and said that this could only be good for business.

“If Valencia has such a lack of confidence in their customers, then I will take all of them,” he said.

27 February 2020, 11:31
The secret behind Denmark's team pursuit success?

Denmark have twice broken the men's team pursuit world record at the Track Cycling World Championships in Berlin this week.

Team GB finished finished seventh in qualifying with a time of 3:50.341 - just a fraction over the then-world record they set to win gold at Rio 2016.

"There's a part of me that knows we're going to do better in Tokyo and our best is still to come," said Ed Clancy.

27 February 2020, 11:15
Chris Froome eases himself back into racing
27 February 2020, 11:12
Madrid's shared-use sharrows don't look much fun to ride in

The sharing is with motor traffic, for one thing.

27 February 2020, 10:48
Fair Fuel UK respond to criticism of anti-cyclist rhetoric

Fair Fuel UK have replied to that tweet from earlier.

Howard must be a real faecal connoisseur to have so confidently identified those responsible for that second act.

27 February 2020, 10:34
Dublin cyclist unconvinced by 'two wrongs don't make a right' argument
27 February 2020, 10:20
20mph limit in Central London from Monday

Not sure too many people travelling through the city on four wheels are hitting the dizzy heights of 25mph or whatever, but there you go.

Transport for London is also looking to introduce safer speed limits across 150km of its road network. A spokesperson said it would focus on, “high-risk sections of road, town centres where people walk and cycle, and ambitious local speed reduction programmes led by London boroughs.”

27 February 2020, 09:36
Syringe
Caja Rural avoids doping suspension

The UCI Professional Continental Team Caja Rural - Seguros RGA has avoided a 15 to 45 day suspension after a second rider was charged with an anti-doping rule violation within the same 12-month period.

In February last year, Spanish rider Jaime Roson was banned from the sport for four years following an adverse analytical finding in his biological passport dating back to January 2017.

Then in December former Portuguese national champion Domingo Goncalves was provisionally suspended for an anti-doping rule violation for use of a prohibited substance based on abnormalities from 2016 and 2018.

Caja Rural argued it had already ended Goncalves’ contract ahead of the 2020 season.

27 February 2020, 08:57
"The liberal green Lycra wearing privileged elite"

Launched in January 2011 to fight for lower fuel duty, FairFuelUK claims to represent “the real concerns of hard working motorists, families, small businesses, commercial drivers and hauliers across the UK.”

It is funded by the Freight Transport Association, the Road Haulage Association and the Association of Pallet Networks.

It's fair to say the organisation is not a huge supporter of cycling.

Back in 2017, campaign founder Howard Cox revealed a certain (perhaps wilful) ignorance of where funding for roads actually comes from, saying: “What infuriates the highest taxed motorists in the world is what they see as the lack of fairness apportioned to all road users.

“They believe cyclists should be making some financial contribution to roads and increasing cycle lanes they currently benefit from.

“They also want to see the compulsory use of helmets, cyclists to be road insured, wear fluorescent clothing, pass a road proficiency test and more prosecutions for the increasing episodes of dangerous cycling.”

Cox has previously seen fit to deploy the phrase "Lycra army". It's unclear how he came to be so fixated on the fabric.

27 February 2020, 08:56
Video: Cycling high jump effort

Tom Meeusen’s 75cm jump was enough for victory at the Rectavit Cyclocross Masters, but alas he couldn’t break his own world record of 80cm, shared with Jan Denuwelaere.

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.

Add new comment

20 comments

Avatar
cycle.london | 4 years ago
0 likes

The 20 mph limit inside the Square Mile has been comprehensively ignored since it was put into place.  I don't anticipate that this 'Central London' ban will be any different.

Avatar
Rome73 | 4 years ago
0 likes

"Cox has previously seen fit to deploy the phrase "Lycra army". It's unclear how he came to be so fixated on the fabric."

I reckon he has a Lycra clad gimp at home he gets outs out for special occasions. 

Avatar
eburtthebike | 4 years ago
0 likes

NYC security guard needs a good kick where it hurts; total twat who thinks he's god because he's got a tiny bit of power.  I hope the cyclist he tackled to the ground presses charges and puts him in jail where he belongs.

Avatar
Rik Mayals unde... | 4 years ago
3 likes

“They also want to see the compulsory use of helmets, cyclists to be road insured, wear fluorescent clothing, pass a road proficiency test and more prosecutions for the increasing episodes of dangerous cycling.”

Is the call for compulsory use of helmets to give the cyclists a chance when they get hit by moron drivers?

Do they have any figures how many of the 'lycra army' actually have insurance? 

Pass a proficiency test? Jesus, all the motorists have sat a test to prove they are qualified enough to have the priviledge of holding a license, yet look anywhere on the road, any day, and you will see the results of the driving test. If as many cyclists are shit cyclists as motorists are shit drivers after a test, we are fucked. 

Flourescent clothing? Surely the onus is on motorists to make sure that their eyes are good enough to be able to see enough to drive a metal killing box on wheels safely without killing someone. They make matt black cars, and I don't see those written off everywhere. 

Where is the evidence of 'increasing episodes of dangerous driving'? Look any where and you will see plenty of episodes of dangerous driving. Some of the most dangerous episodes I have witnessed come courtesy of members of the road haulage brigade. 

Dickheads, fuckwits, the lot of them. Fair fuel? I have yet to see a poor haulage contractor, and I work for a commercial vehicle dealer.

 

Avatar
NZ Vegan Rider | 4 years ago
2 likes

Candid camera '89 = great. Look how slim everyone was!!

Avatar
ktache | 4 years ago
3 likes

The Madrid sharrow- That's no mere murderstrip, that's a full murderlane.

Fine shiny helmet on the rider though.

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 4 years ago
2 likes

Regarding the letter-box pooping; What has a hazelnut in every bite?

Avatar
EddyBerckx | 4 years ago
6 likes

Regading the 20mph speed limit on central london roads (TFL controlled only, which leaves many at 30mph). The city of london (the 'square mile') did this a few years ago and for 2 weeks traffic (black cabs and white vans) actually travelled at this speed...then the city of london police stopped policing it and now it's a free for all as before.

So a step in the right direction...but without enforcement nothing will actually change

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 4 years ago
16 likes

As a liberal green Lycra wearing privileged elite(?) I'd like to submit our demands on the motorists:

  • Stop running us over
Avatar
EddyBerckx | 4 years ago
7 likes

"Mum...dad...all that education and years of hard work paid off. From council estate to 'The Elite' - I've finally made it!!!!"

Avatar
srchar replied to EddyBerckx | 4 years ago
3 likes

After all these years, I finally see what Norman Tebbit was really trying to say in his speech after the Brixton riots. Membership of The Elite was there for the taking - all that was required was a garment woven from a synthetic polymer and a knackered old BMX.

Avatar
billymansell | 4 years ago
8 likes

FairFuelUK claims to represent “the real concerns of hard working motorists, families, small businesses, commercial drivers and hauliers across the UK.”

Nah, they're just another whingesome tax-dodging motoring malatia group demanding their activities be subsidised. Just throw in the old trope of 'hard working motorists/families' to sound like they actually care about people.

Avatar
cycle.london | 4 years ago
8 likes

'... unrelenting anti-motorist agenda'?

Fuck me, is he on crack?

Avatar
Philh68 replied to cycle.london | 4 years ago
5 likes

Certainly is delusional. Perpetuating the myths about paying entitles you to more right to the road for starters. It’s the law that gives that right, not money. And the scapegoating of some imaginary group of supposedly green leaning cycling elites, WTF is that about? Can’t bring himself to accept that the conservatives he clearly supports would see fuel tax as one of many ways to increase government revenue?

Avatar
Mungecrundle replied to Philh68 | 4 years ago
4 likes

Per mile, given that I am now in the fortunate position of being a complete tart and only drive / ride them in the most perfect of weather, the VED I pay for my MX-5 and Triumph motorcycle should entitle me to sole use of the roads I choose to use, and any vehicle getting in my way should immediately be seized and crushed.

Avatar
brooksby | 4 years ago
3 likes

And - is lycra particularly 'green' anyway?

Avatar
brooksby | 4 years ago
11 likes

Fuel duty has been kept artificially low for ten years now.  Fair Fuel UK are basically lobbying for every single taxpayer in the country to continue to subsidise their driving everywhere they want, when they want, as much as they want, cheaply.

Avatar
srchar replied to brooksby | 4 years ago
8 likes

Exactly. Truly fair fuel pricing, accounting for externalities, would see the cost of the stuff more than double.

Disclosure: Like 98% of people who ride bikes, I also own a car, so I already (don't) pay "road tax". Why do the frothers always assume that bike and car ownership are mutually exclusive?

Avatar
AlsoSomniloquism replied to srchar | 4 years ago
4 likes

And apparently Mr Cox also cycles, yet seems to be really anti cycling.

"Why don’t you work with us. He has repeatedly ask Green and cycle groups. Never a constructive response just personal abuse"

So he can abuse cyclists but can't take it back?

 

Avatar
Butty replied to srchar | 4 years ago
0 likes
srchar wrote:

Why do the frothers always assume that bike and car ownership are mutually exclusive?

Many of these Gammons grew up in mid 1900 Britain where acquiring a car signified a jump in social standing. You hadn't made it if still cycling to work and you didn't have the means to purchase a car. The good old British class structure and snobbery in play.

Unfortunatley Gammons are so indoctrinated with this perspective that they cannot grasp how the country and taxation has changed.

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