Coronavirus: Four teams still confined in UAE hotel; Strade Bianche to go ahead; “Why don’t drivers pay road tax?”; Cyclist-turned-boxer Waeytens has say on Moscon; Tinkov’s £20 million bail; Froome recovery ‘on track’ + more on live blog
SUMMARY
ICYMI: your weekend catch-up
Too busy watching some bike race in Belgium that you can’t pronounce the name of? Well I hope it was worth it, and here are all the glorious written words you missed from road.cc…
Gianni Moscon disqualified from Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne for throwing bike at another rider
UCI chief: Impact of coronavirus on cycle sport could be “huge”
Camden and Tottenham Hale Cycleway a year behind schedule
Highways England accused of wasting tens of thousands of public money on CCTV in Queensbury Tunnel
Cycling vs driving
So who will get there first? In time, with zero emissions, no noise, free health benefits and having a good time! pic.twitter.com/KBFFNh10MI
— Henk Swarttouw (@copenhenken) March 1, 2020
A cynical soul in the comments noted: “That can’t be real, there are no cars blocking the bike lane”… well that’s because this footage was taken in the Netherlands, where doing so is frowned upon considerably more so than here if reports are to be believed. Is your bike commute quicker than driving?
Former pro Osar Pujol appearing on Spanish version of first dates
The 36-year-old – who last rode for Team Ukyo and now presents on the Spanish version of the GCN cycling YouTube channel – has confirmed that he will be appearing on an upcoming episode of First Dates in his native country. Will he be riding off into the sunset with the love of his life? We’re on the edge of our seats…
Gianni Moscon appears to have deleted his Instagram account
Nothing shown up for the 25-year-old on Twitter either, which we presume is something to do with landing himself in hot water again after being disqualified from Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne for throwing bike at another rider. Team Ineos (then Tean Sky) said after Moscon hit Fortuneo-Samsic rider Elie Gesbert at the 2018 Tour de France that he would be sacked for any more misconduct; however they are yet to release a statement about this latest incident.
Oleg Tinkov pays £20 million bail to British court to avoid US extradition for tax fraud
The Russian entrepreneur, who was in charge of the Tinkoff cycling team in its many forms, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday and paid £20 million to avoid US extradition. The 52-year-old billionaire is accused of making a false tax return and under-reporting tax from his income in 2013, and has had a strict curfew imposed until his next court appearance; Tinkov will need to wear an electronic tag and has to stay at his Holland Park home from 7pm to 7am every day, and has had to surrender his passport.
His umbrella company TCS Group Holding PLC told the Daily Express: “Mr Tinkov is confident that it will be resolved as swiftly as possible.
“It is a private matter that does not affect any of the operating companies in Tinkoff Group.”
Gianni Moscon should be counting his lucky stars that Zico Waeytens has retired from cycling
Hi @GianniMoscon if you ever throw a bike again to a friend… I will put you between your frame and it will take me exactly 6sec. to do it ! Kind regards 🙋♂️
— zico waeytens (@ZicoWaeytens) March 1, 2020
That’s because Waeytens retired from cycling to take up… boxing of all things, and appears to be laying down the law for the Italian in this tweet. While his English ain’t perfect what we can gather is that the Belgian says if Moscon throws a bike at one of his pals again, he will wrap him around a bike frame and do it all in six seconds flat. Now that’s fighting talk…
— Rodadortop (@Rodadortop) March 1, 2020
Cyclists in coronavirus quarantine: the latest news
Blessings upon Britain, we’re home ♥️ pic.twitter.com/4FgiziekDJ
— YourRoyalThighness_ (@RoyalThighness_) March 2, 2020
Vous connaissez sûrement la situation? Ou pas?! La course UAE à été arrêtée jeudi suite à un éventuel cas de coronavirus. Le 4ème étage de notre hôtel ou nous sommes actuellement, toujours bloqué.
Un 2eme test a été effectué, nous serons sûrement « libre » d’une minute à l’autre.— Arnaud Demare (@ArnaudDemare) March 2, 2020
Alex Dowsett is finally home from the cancelled UAE Tour, presumably COVID-19-free, and Arnaud Demare is not happy that he’s still in quarantine. Nathan Haas has even made a video showing us how he’s staying fit in quarantine…
Meanwhile, in breaking coronavirus news completely unrelated to cycling, apparently we’re all to stay away from 90’s pop sensation Peter Andre…
"Why don't motorists pay road tax?": London drivers' VED won't contribute ANYTHING towards cost of road upkeep from 2021, claim TfL
That old nugget that cyclists are less worthy road users because they don’t pay ‘road tax’ (no one does, it was abolished by Winston Churchill in 1937) is somewhat even more ironic in the capital as we get closer to 2021… the date from when absolutely none of the £500m a year in Vehicle Excise Duty collected from London’s drivers will actually go towards upkeep of the roads.
Next time someone goes on about “road tax” in London I will remind them that from next year all of the VED goes to central government and people using public transport are paying for the roads and all of the damage that they cause.https://t.co/MEYvBd52BP pic.twitter.com/yO6sNgyKUQ
— Pkr – A day in the life as a father. (@lxtwin) March 1, 2020
Page 32 of Transport for London’s Business Plan published in 2017 says: “We have to, for the first time, address the critical issues of London’s road network, including congestion, road danger, maintenance and air quality, without any Government operating grant. Furthermore, from 2021, the £500m raised every year from Londoners paying Vehicle Excise Duty will be collected by central Government and only invested in roads outside the Capital.
“This means the net operating costs of London’s roads, currently almost £200m each year, and the cost of renewing these roads, between £100m to £150m each year, are effectively being cross subsidised from fare-paying public transport users. This is neither sustainable nor equitable. As a result, in the short to medium term we will have to significantly reduce our programme of proactive capital renewals on the road network, although we will ensure safety of the network is maintained.”
George Osborne announced reforms to VED back in his 2015 budget by earmarking the funds for road network improvements; but he was criticised by Cycling UK’s Roger Geffen and others for essentially raising money to build on the road network, when “councils are struggling to maintain the ones we’ve got.” TfL maintain that they want there to be a link between VED and road funding in London, and would use some of the cash to modernise the road network to “support more walking and cycling journeys across the Capital.”
Will the next budget and/or new transport strategies amend this schedule so London drivers are paying at least something towards the roads they drive on? Until then, at least the ‘road tax’ argument is particularly untrue in London…
Bradley Wiggins' motorhome: dealer says £50k price tag is "appropriate market price"
If you followed the saga of Bradley Wiggins’ former motorhome on Friday’s live blog, you’ll have been patiently waiting for a response we said we’d get from Frost Commercials on the pricing for the luxury converted Mercedes van as used by the Tour de France winner. The dealership put the motorhome up for sale at £49,999, despite it selling for £47,000 at auction in 2017.
Frost Commercials told road.cc: “This is correct as well publicised online. This special vehicle sold for £47,000 + fees at an unspecialised trade van auction in 2017, regarded a steal on the day for the winning bidder.
“Today it is being marketed in a retail setting, with warranties, finance/part exchange options and full retail sales preparation at its appropriate market price. We regard this exquisite offering, with its provenance and heritage as an appreciating asset of Great British sporting history, which we are simply delighted to have the fortune to offer for sale”
So there you have it… got loadsa money and fancy making it yours? The listing is here.
Coronavirus: RCS Sport confirm Strade Bianche, Tirreno–Adriatico and Milan–San Remo will go ahead as planned
The company that organise the three prestigious races have told all participating teams via email that they will go ahead as planned despite growing concerns about coronavirus threatening the cycling calendar, reports Sporza.
It was thought Italian sporting events would be in a particularly precarious position, because of an outbreak in the north of the country and two Italians reportedly testing positive at the UAE Tour last week; however organisers have gave their assurances that the races would go ahead. The 2020 edition of the Strade Bianche takes place on Saturday 7th March, Tirreno–Adriatico is between Wednesday 11th – Tuesday 17th March and Milan–San Remo is on Saturday 21st March.
Jonathan Vaughters says he's happy to see "business as usual" with big Italian races going ahead
Very happy to see this. Getting on with business as usual. Accepting risk is part of living. Accepting and embracing risk is a really big part of cycling and professional cycling. So, let’s get on with it and race some bikes! #exploretheworld #chickenlittleneedsprozac https://t.co/XsFneVcl6i
— Jonathan Vaughters (@Vaughters) March 2, 2020
Not everyone agrees with the EF Pro Cycling manager, with some of the opinion that everything surrounding bike races (plane travel, large congregations of people) aren’t the best things for containing what could turn into a pandemic… what do you think?
But is the health of the cyclists really worth that risk? I can understand risk around crashing are part of road cycling’s very nature but not sure global pandemics/infections are…
— Jacob (@marrakoosh) March 2, 2020
So will you be there exposing yourself to COVID-19? What about rider’s families – some have very young children. And it is hard to think of a more effective way of spreading disease than assembling a bunch of people in a hot-spot & then dispersing them round the world by plane.
— tashatam (@tashatam14) March 2, 2020
Transport for London's 20mph limit comes into force
Reminder: The speed limit on @TfL roads in Central London is now 20mph https://t.co/Kf6b9WXS81
— Will Norman (@willnorman) March 2, 2020
From this morning, all roads operated by TfL within the central London Congestion Charging Zone now have a 20mph limit. On their web page entitled ‘Safe Speeds’ TfL say: “Speed is a factor in at least 37% of collisions where a person is killed or is seriously injured on London’s streets. This is why we’re lowering speed limits across London.”
Some of the roads already had a 20mph limit enforced, but as of this morning 19 of the 37 roads will have a new lower limit. TfL also plan to expand 20mph limits out to a further 140 kilometres of their road network in inner and outer London, focussing on roads that pose a higher risk of a collision occurring according to data.
Coronavirus: Four teams remain confined in UAE hotel
Riders and staff from four teams – Cofidis, FDJ, UAE Team Emirates and Gazprom – remain confined in a hotel in the United Arab Emirates following two suspected cases of coronavirus.
The suspected cases related to two Italian staff members of UAE Team Emirates, who are housed on the same floor of the Yas Island Crowne Plaza as the other three teams.
FDJ’s Arnaud Demare said: “The others from the other floors were allowed home Sunday but everybody was eating and mixing together in the same place on Friday and Saturday.
“We’re all stuck in our rooms, there was cycling on the TV this weekend and we’ve been working out and watching Netflix.”
He and his team-mates will also be able to do a bit of pedalling too, with a picture on social media showing a consignment of Elite turbo trainers being delivered to the team.
Meanwhile, this video from Cofidis rider Nathan Haas and team mate Attilio Viviani shows how they are managing to keep fit using a variety of props.
Keep fit during your quarantine https://t.co/Mtn3PTVcYX
— Nathan Haas (@NathanPeterHaas) March 1, 2020
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Ignorance is not an excuse but it is a reason. A year or so ago, I was contracted by the Met Police in North London to do some free bike checks with them. We would set up on cycle lanes etc and the Police would offer advice on how to lock a cycle correctly and what types of lock to buy and they would offer to security mark the cycle. My small team would offer free bike checks. It was very well intentioned and all about ‘community relations’. However, the Police didn’t have a clue ..They were stopping illegal e-motorbikes and asking me to check the brakes (wot brakes? LOL) etc. I was pointing out to them - without causing any trouble for anyone - that these were not bicycles. The riders had no idea these were e-motorbikes. The police and riders all thought these were bicycles.
I'm curious about that saddle! Looks a bit like a Fizik Terra Argo but flatter from nose to tail, just what I'm after...
@GravelIsNothingNew If it doesn't catch any doping cheats then it shows it's justified as the threat of being tested at any hour has stopped people doping. Interesting logic though, investigations can only be justified if they're certain to discover a particular outcome, in which case there's no sense in having the investigation in the first place...
I got their All Road model a few years ago and love it. It is a great shame these kind of companies don't get more publicity in the mainstream bike press.
It was this specific example of clickbait wasn't a life changing thing. Not the crash, which was horrible. Hopefully being a collarbone the surgery was straight forward and there won't be any lingering effects like with the horror crash he had in the Basque Country. Cheers
…and why was Jonas tested at 2am, whilst Tadej was tested in the morning at 5am?
Midnight testing in the middle of a cycling grand tour is only justified if it catches a doping cheat, otherwise it is unconscionable. The UCI’s own rules say it is only justified if there is real suspicion of doping. …Where is the evidence?
Is that a Russian "z" symbol represented by the front wheel? Or is it an "s" - and is the back wheel the same?
Of course this will rightly be subject to meeting legal evidence requirements. Which will then be amended to "we have been told that the minimum evidential standards are..." Which a cynic might suggest will allow police to dismiss enough cases so they don't get too busy. Except when a few of them get suspicious of someone and decide to make up the law again...
RE: "suitable roadside test equipment" Does this mean "UCI-level scrutiny is needed" .... Or "eyes plus awareness that bikes normally slow down when on the flat / going uphill *without being pedalled*"?
17 thoughts on “Coronavirus: Four teams still confined in UAE hotel; Strade Bianche to go ahead; “Why don’t drivers pay road tax?”; Cyclist-turned-boxer Waeytens has say on Moscon; Tinkov’s £20 million bail; Froome recovery ‘on track’ + more on live blog”
Cycling vs driving
Cycling vs driving
Well, mine was quicker by bike, 6.3m into Bristol, even with the lack of infrastructure and lots of junctions and lights. I used to hate it when I had to drive in; all that time sat in jams fuming, me and the car.
I was initially astonished that apparently none of the hundreds of people sat in their cars that I would pass on my bike every day got the message, but then I realised that most people, including me, aren’t really very logical.
Most people will just make
Most people will just make excuses – such as it’s too cold, followed by I don’t want to get sweaty, then realise how silly that sounds and say it’s too slow, then I don’t want to mess up my hair… it’s quite funny listening to people tie themselves into knots trying to excuse themselves for not doing what they know they should, instead of just admitting they don’t want to!
my commute was 26km along highways mostly 80-90kmh limit, no chance of being quicker than cars. The one exception was during the morning peak when bus replacement services were running. That evened the odds.
26 km might be a bit too far
26 km might be a bit too far for most people but many daily journeys are much shorter than that. The images from Netherlands and Denmark of people of all ages just getting from A to B by bicycle really show what can be done when suitable infrastructure is provided and an accompanying cultural shift normalises cycling rather than the activity being seen as for males in lycra.
When I used to do my 10 mile
When I used to do my 10 mile/16km commute across London by bike, it was far quicker than using a car. My record on the bicycle was 37 minutes on the way home during Tuesday evening rush hour, and without running any red lights I hasten to add. I worked in Swiss Cottage and lived in Brixton then.
I couldn’t even beat that time on my motorbike.
When I had to use a rental car/pool car on the journey, it’d take up to 1 hour 30 minutes for the same journey and I’ve never managed that route by car in less than an hour at any time of the day.
Not only is my 35-45 minute
Not only is my 35-45 minute commute to work quicker than it would be by car, it’s quicker than the train/tube combination as well. Never mind all the time I’d hang around waiting for late trains, or queuing from the train to the ticket barrier…
alexb wrote:
And don’t forget that trains and tubes are ideal places to pass on viruses.
Zico Waeytens threatening to
Zico Waeytens threatening to put Moscon inside his frame within six seconds, is a highlight 🙂
We live in hope.
We live in hope.
I suspect “grumpy Johnny”
I suspect “grumpy Johnny” would think twice about throwing anything at Bouhanni. Bloke’s clearly a nob’ead.
20-25 mins by bike. 35-40
20-25 mins by bike. 35-40 mins by car. So yes, easily quicker by bike for me. I’m not even going in/near the city centre either.
Since I’ve never driven to
Since I’ve never driven to work I can’t say, but I would guess my 15 min commute would take at least half an hour to city centre and I’d probably be suicidal in quite short order.
I think the Peter Andre
I think the Peter Andre advice is very sensible and not just during a viral outbreak.
A simplified version of that
A simplified version of that TfL statement about public transport users paying for the roads should be on every bus, tube carriage and car and petrol station forecourt.
And every other Londoner can rightfully give a big middle finger to the fuckwits who mention ‘road tax’ as well as all the arseholes who drive like they own the roads.
If I go exactly door to door
If I go exactly door to door and don’t do any errands on the way, then:
Cycle – 30-40 minutes.
Bus – assuming it comes on time and I cut it as late as I can before going out to the bus stop, about 40 minutes plus a ten minute walk to the office. Costs £5 day rider ticket.
Car – 30-40 minutes. Costs £2 Clifton Suspension Bridge tolls (£1 each way), plus petrol, etc.
Distance is about 6.5 miles ish from door to door (and it’s a bit hilly, so cut me some slack 😉 ).
I found the same, Bristols
I found the same, Bristols transport infrastructure is shocking….
I used to live near Bristol airport and commute to Filton (16 miles, via city centre). Usually an hour’s drive or about 50 mins cycling.
I got the train a couple times and it took about an hour and a half…
The Tinkov story doesn’t
The Tinkov story doesn’t quite make sense. You don’t pay bail to avoid extradition, as far as I know. You make a payment as security against absconding – where you’d be kept in prison otherwise.
I don’t know but I guess extradition may still be on the cards if he loses his case future hearings.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
Maybe it depends on to whom you make the bail payment…?