Peloton reckon they're the perfect Mother's Day gift; Cycling bad for your health, says former French minister for... health; Cyclist knocked off by 10ft wave from 4x4; The worst road in Britain?; New petrol to give city cyclists cleaner air?; & more

In her bid to become the next mayor of Paris, the former French Minister for Health Agnès Buzyn has claimed on a national TV debate that cycling is bad for your health due to breathing in polluted air.

It appears that Buzyn is rather against plans set out by current mayor Anne Hidalgo to build a bike lane on every Parisian street. The plan would see Paris become "100%" bike-friendly by 2024, and policies under Hidalgo have already reduced motor traffic by 22.6% from 2014 to 2020. Last year alone, motor traffic dropped by 8%.

The fact that increasing active travel levels generally results in cleaner air seems to have passed Buzyn by. French speakers can try to make sense of her rather misguided logic in the clip below...

Une ministre de la Santé ne devrait pas dire ça. pic.twitter.com/qUmkEwyJFZ

— Emmanuel (@EmmanuelSPV) March 5, 2020

Last year, after pension reform strikes brought the city's transport system to a near-halt, many Parisians took to their bicycles to get around. As we reported last month, many seem to be sticking with it. 

The Shropshire Star is reporting on a local B-road that residents are suggesting could be a danger to life.

One of our favourite Facebook pages, Angry People in Local Newspapers caught on to the story about the offending road, which after a bit of digging (pun absolutely intended), turns out to be the B4379 which forms part of National Cycle Route 81.

So, what would you take down this road? Aero race bike, winter hack, or maybe a full-sus MTB. 

Also, if you've seen a worse road and have photo evidence, we'd love to see the pics down in the comments below.

If you were planning on watching the modern classic on Saturday then we're sorry to break it to you, but the race has been postponed. 

Official: @StradeBianche postponed, no race this saturday #StradeBianche #Corona

— Renaat Schotte (@wielerman) March 5, 2020

RCS, the race organiser has reportedly informed teams that the race on the chalk roads of Tuscany will not take place on Saturday.

We're yet to get the details from RCS, but the race is likely to be run at a later date.

More to follow.

The Government is currently assessing a move to a new standard petrol grade which could cut CO2 transport emissions by 750,000 tonnes per year, improving the air quality for city-centre cyclists.

A move from an E5-grade to an E10-grade fuel would bring the UK into line with countries such as Belgium, Finland, France and Germany where the cleaner fuel is already standard. The benefit of the E10 fuel is that it contains less carbon and more ethanol than the current E5.

According to the Department for Transport, the move could cut CO2 transport emissions by 750,000 tonnes per year. The new fuel policy could be brought in at the start of next year, but will this result in cleaner air, especially in cities? 

Tommeke might be on his way back to professional racing after apparently being inspired by fellow Belgian legend Kim Clijsters.

The tennis star recently announced her return to the court after a seven-year absence and it seems to have got Boonen thinking about a possible return.

Speaking on a radio show after a listener posed the question about a return, Boonen said "I sometimes wonder about this. Last week I asked myself, 'How easy or difficult would it be?' I sometimes ask myself this question. Certainly a little more since Kim's return, who is on everyone's lips.  I ask myself this question because I will be 40 at the end of this year. If I have to do it once, it's now or never. But I haven't said anything and decided yet"

Boonen has switched over to racing cars, so he's been keeping in good shape. We might be clutching at straws here, but to see him try for a fifth Paris-Roubaix win would be great.

Congratulations, Holland was indeed the correct answer.

The bridge is being built to connect a new-build village to the closest town and spans a nature reserve, a river and a motorway.

Speaking to local newspaper Dagblad van het Noorden, Reinder Lanting, who worked on the project, said that the "bridge is not going to rot. That is because it is technically well designed. The wood is not pressed together but has a sort of venting system".

That 'ventilated' wood means that the bridge is designed to last for at least 80 years and pitches to a maximum gradient of 2.5%. 

Currently, the longest cycling bridge in Europe measures 756m and is located in southern Sweeden. Neither bridge comes close to the Chinese effort of 7.6km.

You can read our story on that one here.

Seeing as this is all getting a tad confusing, let's start with a run-down of the latest situation.

Firstly, the Italian Government is stating that all sporting events will be required to play-out behind closed doors. What does this mean for bike races? Well, that's bad news as the organisers have no control over roadside spectators.

Not that the race organisers have provided a clear picture yet. RCS is yet to release a statement on the block of races coming up in the next few weeks.

Their hand may be forced by the teams who are gradually pulling out of varying numbers of races. Some, like FDJ, Cofidis, and Team UAE Emirates have riders and staff quarantined until 14th March, so could not field a team anyway.

Others, like Mitchelton-Scott and Team Ineos are taking the cautious approach of withdrawing from all races for the time being. They may well have seen the situation in the UAE and decided that they'd rather avoid a quarantine situation.

The UCI, well, they've imposed some guidelines and announced that no races are currently cancelled. Those guidelines include

• Increasing the distance between the public and riders, particularly in the start and finish zones.

• Respecting a strict medical protocol, variable depending on the country, but in any case including a process for dealing with suspected cases and the provision of a detailed map of establishments capable of carrying out diagnostic tests for the coronavirus.

• Limiting the number of teams staying in each hotel.

• Respecting certain hygiene measures, for example avoiding the use of the same pen by riders signing in at the beginning of the race.

Clear now? Yea, we thought not...