If Carlsberg did group rides: Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel become training buddies; Coffees on Cav; These pesky cyclists think they’re in the Tour de France; Patrick Lefevere criticises “life-threatening” race finishes + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
If Carlsberg did group rides: Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel become training buddies
Picture the scene: you’re lazily winding through the hills of Calpe, minding your own business, when that all-too-familiar buzz of riders approaching behind snaps you from your summer haze. But you aren’t passed by any old plodders… no, the sharp calves, golden tan, pristine pro kits and monstrous watts which just dropped you, in fact, belong to not one but two of the peloton’s most absurdly talented bike riders — Remco Evenepoel and Mathieu van der Poel.
If you’re like me you’d probably sprint onto the wheel, try to stay there, blow up spectacularly (less than 30 seconds later), and then try to convince yourself they were ‘going full gas’, not effortlessly spinning their legs…
Perhaps this is the new plan to beat Wout van Aert: assemble an Avengers cycling cast of anyone and everyone capable of challenging him…
MvdP, just back to training (or at least just back to sharing rides on Strava), seemed to be taking things a tad easier than Vuelta-ready Remco, whose activity laps include three big 20-minute efforts, simulating those sustained climbs of Grand Tour racing.
So how’s Remco looking? Oh, you know, fairly normal… just smashing three minutes off a KOM up a 6km climb at 10 per cent… nothing too crazy…just four minutes faster than FDJ pair David Gaudu and Thibaut Pinot did…
Remco averaged 30km/h+ average speed during the pair’s 3,150m of climbing through the hills of southern Spain, leaving Mathieu to title his ride ‘Sauna day’…
Idea for a programme…’Blood, sweat and tyres’…two riders of the WorldTour chat in the sauna, sharing anecdotes, jokes and training advice, all while in the mild discomfort of the sauna…
I’ll stop pretending to be Alan Partridge now…
These pesky cyclists think they're in the Tour de France
I miss this era type of pranks 😭😂 pic.twitter.com/xyeqsd24UG
— ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK (@dailyinstavids) August 8, 2022
Patrick Lefevere criticises "life-threatening" race finishes
We’ve seen what Remco’s up to, but what about his boss? Well, Patrick Lefevere’s Nieuwsblad columns are always good for a soundbite (can something in print have a soundbite?)… although today’s is a little less controversial than some from the past…
Criticising race organisers for what he called “life-threatening” dangerous sprint finishes, the outspoken Belgian said his team “currently have three riders in hospital, that says enough”.
“That fall in Burgos, in particular, should never have happened. Such a speed bump five hundred meters from the finish, on a road on a descent, that is life-threatening. Those things are made to make cars run slower, but those riders fly over it in full final at seventy kilometers per hour,” he wrote.
You’ll have no complaints from us today, Patrick, no complaints at all…
Comment of the day
Coffees on Cav
Proper local newspaper story this one, all credit to Warwickshire World…
Cav and his Isle of Man teammates gave a new family-run cafe a boost when all 14 of them popped in for coffees on Friday.
“It seemed as if there were about a million bicycles parked up here and when they came in they asked if we were OK to serve so many of them,” owner Charlotte Price said.
“Before long we realised Mark Cavendish was among them. They were more than happy to have some photos taken with us and were very friendly. One of them said he loved his hot chocolate and they all seemed to enjoy the break. We’ve only been open for eight months so for them to come and visit us as a independent family-run business was so nice.
“Every little helps and it really meant a lot to us.”
Best cycling gear 2022 | road.cc Recommends episode 17
Tour de Prank
As road.cc Simon has pointed out in the comments there’s another cycling prank out there worth a mention on the live blog. Dating back to 2009, I was today years old when I got to see this for the first time…
Glorious.
Lance ties the knot... in France
Interesting location, but we’ll roll with it…
Slightly surprised that this fella just got married in … France. https://t.co/rtOVcD6CJf
— cyclingchallenge (@cyclingalps) August 10, 2022
Don’t all send your ‘I don’t care, why are you covering him’ comments at once, it would be good to spread them out through the afternoon.
Anyway, I wonder who’ll get the exclusive ‘tell all’ gossip interview first? Oprah?
A road.cc reader leads out Remco and Van der Poel
If Carlsberg did group rides: Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel become training buddies + Remco sharpens his tools for the Vuelta, smashing three minutes off the KOM up a 6km climb at 10 per centhttps://t.co/2z7rYl8rIU #cycling pic.twitter.com/S7UQo1b579
— road.cc (@roadcc) August 10, 2022
road.cc reader Andy reported he’d spotted the WorldTour pair as he was “wheezing my way up Coll de Rates”… apparently they gave Andy a word of encouragement, so that’s good to hear. In reply Nick Labrum suggested a quick rewording of his comment could put Andy in a far more impressive light: “Yes, they were on my wheel for a period of time whilst I lead them out up the Coll.”
To which, honest Andy concluded: “Yeah I could have done Nick, but I’d have been lying.” A great story, either way…
Carlsberg took a kicking on Facebook too…”Hopefully they’d be a lot better than their (Carlsberg’s) beer. Although I don’t think I’ve ever been on a bike ride that’s as bad as their beer,” John commented.
Have you bumped into a pro while out on your bike? Hopefully not literally bumped into…but you know what I mean…
Get your tales in the comments…
London Edinburgh London update: Matt Page is back + makeshift marshal
Matt Page made it to the finish in the early hours of this morning, to take some well-earned rest…
“The hardest cycling event I have ever done,” he said. “Mentally and physically. The highs and lows were so extreme. From the huge surge of adrenaline re-taking the lead on a 20 per cent climb in the Pennines, to the endless flat roads around the Fens and getting ready to bin it near Carlisle.”
Here he was passing through 80km to go last night…
The first rider on London-Edinburgh-London 2022 has just passed through Duxford. Looking forward to seeing all the others over the next three days@LEL1500km @Lel2022stives pic.twitter.com/EMQfOdmiIC
— Rob_J_Hale (@RobJHale1) August 9, 2022
Elsewhere on the route shout-out to the rider who stood guard at a broken cattlegrid until an official arrived…
A huge thank you to rider M Agar (Z6) who marshalled a broken & dangerous cattlegrid on the remote crossing from Innerleithen to Eskdalemuir in the dark & early hours until a #LEL2022 official could arrive with borrowed traffic cones. #HeroesOfLEL
— London Edinburgh London (@LEL1500km) August 10, 2022
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig's feeling supersonic, give her gin and tonic...
L’actrice préférée de ton actrice préférée
La cycliste préférée de ta cycliste préférée @CUttrupLudwig pic.twitter.com/ab6ySQFVIc— Cédric TORELLI (@Cedric_Torelli) August 8, 2022
Up there with Sam Bennett starring in Now TV DublinBikes ad and the Danish Road Safety Council’s Viking comedy that was entertaining enough for us to forget it was an ad asking riders to wear a helmet…
Take my bike! London Edinburgh London rider donates frame and parts to the cause
Ever been so done in you’ve wanted to throw your bike into the nearest hedge and never see it again?
Ahem…
LEL volunteering, special mention to LB8 who had enough when he got to Dunfermline, took his wheels and told us to scrap his bike. The parts came in handy to get lots of people back on the road #LEL2022 pic.twitter.com/Swn9xSMBVn
— Iain Park (@orangtank) August 10, 2022
To be fair, this rider had just cycled from London to Edinburgh in a few days, and the bike went to good use…being stripped for parts to help other participants…notably one who needed a new stem by the looks of things…
We’ve now got a funny image of a dishevelled audaxer walking into an Edinburgh bar with no possessions other than two wheels and all their kit. Tough day? You don’t know the half of it, mate!
Interesting hypothesis
“If you’re house is burgled police won’t bother turning up because they’re too busy watching videos of drivers overtaking cyclists.”
— Stupid shit people say on Facebook about cycling (@AntiCyclingFB) August 10, 2022
The ever-brilliant ‘Stupid shit people on Facebook say about cycling’ page is back with another classic.
10 August 2022, 08:10
10 August 2022, 08:10
10 August 2022, 08:10
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Latest Comments
@HarrogateSpa could be. With some Labour / other socialist types I think it's: a) a historic reaction to the toff and/or mill owner and their horse-enhanced status. So "we'll damn well have cars also". ("Fairness", I guess). b) (partly related) many working people rely on their vehicles for work (or to get there). So "we'll fight anything that looks like them taking our independence". Of course I think excellent arguments against motor traffic dependence could be made for most political persuasions - but unfortunately it also seems that those for the status quo can also.
@kingleo but according to some posters here aren't those terrible places marred by very high cyclist fatality numbers, dreadful driving conditions, rampant drug use and (inevitably) "communism"? ("non-countries" eh Nige?) One major difference, which perhaps doesn't get enough attention, is that in NL they went through a process of deciding what all streets and roads were primarily "for". Then re-designating and indeed redesigning them and re-engineering the network to "make it so". "Monofunctional roads/streets". That means that it's much clearer where cycle infra is *required*, and where less obvious measures will do. That *would* be a major change for the UK. Our process has been that motor traffic appeared on streets which used to be foot / horse / carriage / cycle. We then had to add footways as it became clear the motor traffic was a danger (also as drivers demanded "their" streets). Then as the traffic got bigger / faster / volumes increased those non-vehicle spaces shrank... So now we commonly have a "high street" which is 1) a "place" or destination (so people want to drive and park there, but then will walk about) 2) maybe also a residential location 3) a major through route. And everyone complaining "our streets are too narrow to accommodate cycling".
@Rendel Harris Hold out for a Halfords Apollo* at least. * I did once own one. I bought it in skinter days to replace a Rudge 3-speed that I found in a scrapyard. Guess which one lasted me 4 years and which one lasted me 4 months.
@Mr Blackbird isn't it "this pub survived two World Wars, but will be destroyed by this ludicrous, dangerous cycle lane, which nobody wants and which will only be used by illegal immigrants riding unlicensed electric motorbikes..." ?
@Mr Blackbird The report on this case is on page 19 of today's Times. Maybe the more right wing rags didn't bother at all? It was on the BBC News website yesterday, but was not featured on this morning's Breakfast News.
@Rendel Harris no no NO! Won't you think of blind pedestrians, who will be in danger of falling in, then being run over by the peloton, then drowning?! Not to mention people with limited mobility who might stumble in and then not be able to get out? Or just those walking around in a relaxed manner, not paying too much attention? No, what is needed is a dedicated area to support accessibility for all. We could call it a ... road! Those with sight impairment would doubtless be ok with that as they would be able to hear the motor vehicles (unlike those deadly silent cyclists). And they could get taxis also. In fact all those who *have to drive* could use it! Cyclists would have nothing to complain about, they could ride there if they don't get in the way of motor vehicles and come to a compete stop whenever they see a pedestrian looking like they might cross...
@HoarseMann I've probably given this too much thought, but alongside each of the bridges I was going to have little in and out ramps to allow cyclists to exit for the shops rather than be confined to a straight-through run.
@kingleo Just picture a lovely character pub with all the original internal features. Baskets of flowers hanging outside. It serves an excellent selection of real ales, craft ales, quality lagers and quality ciders. Todays menu includes a ploughman's lunch, seafood platter and a vast range of sandwich fillings ; all made using locally sourced foods. But wait! A new cycle lane has just been constructed in front of the pub. It is far too dangerous to cross and enter the pub. You turn around and trudge home. Stopping at Tesco to buy a 4 pack of Carling.
@Hollis Jones as Rendel said, the key difference here is there were two strong pieces of evidence distinguishing this from "we all *know* they were aware of the cyclist", one of them a human witness. Outside that it's simply "but the prosecution cannot prove they didn't notice..." and legally that must fail. Like a "he said, she said" but where one of the sides is absent, because they're dead.
20 thoughts on “If Carlsberg did group rides: Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel become training buddies; Coffees on Cav; These pesky cyclists think they’re in the Tour de France; Patrick Lefevere criticises “life-threatening” race finishes + more on the live blog”
If Carlsberg did, it would be
If Carlsberg did, it would be weak, bland and ultimately unsatisfying.
hutchdaddy wrote:
Obligatory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26u3J97IIHE
The squirrel can only do all
The squirrel can only do all that because Carling is such weak pi**. Give him a couple of pints of something decent and all coordination will go and he’ll fall off at the first opportunity. The squirrel could be female and the effects would be very similar.
If it was Brewdog’s The End
If it was Brewdog’s The End of History it wouldn’t even take a pint before the squirrel was totally stuffed.
hutchdaddy wrote:
I wonder how much tolerance wild animals can build up as there must be loads of booze and intoxicants left around
I did see a tablooid story a
I did see a tablooid story a couple of weeks ago where a squirrel was trying to open a vape/pen/thing. Apparently it was strawberry flavoured (the pen, not the squirrel).
brooksby wrote:
Why not both?
(Come on, you just need 8 more posts)
hawkinspeter wrote:
I know – admit it: we all want to know what will happen 😉
I do! I bet it’s like
I do! I bet it’s like driving though so if they say you’ve reached your limit you can just plead hardship. (“If you stopped me posting it would unfairly affect others whose mental health I’m supporting.”)
Yepp, loved that prank video.
Yepp, loved that prank video. Tinternet at its best!
That Canadian video is great,
That Canadian video is great, but Remy Gaillard took it next level a few years later.
Check out some of his other videos too.
That is another level!
That is another level!
This is brilliant! Stuff
This is brilliant! Stuff poking other keyboard warriors, get out there with a flash mob and make some random’s day!
“can something in print have
“can something in print have a soundbite?”
It’s called a quote. That’s something a journalist should probably know…
What about a liveblogger,
What about a liveblogger, though?
To be fair, ‘soundbite’ and ‘quote’ aren’t quite equivalent – ‘soundbite’ carries more of sense of being memorable / repeatable, which ‘quote’ doesn’t.
Next question: can an article online be said to be ‘in print’…?
Nah, never heard of that…
Nah, never heard of that…
“Pro” is probably pushing it,
“Pro” is probably pushing it, but last Monday I cycled from South London to Birmingham (while the family drove) to go and see the Commonwealth Games. We didn’t actually see any of the cycling live, but while stopping for a breather in Kenilworth on the way up I saw two members of the (three man) Seychelles team out on a ride.
I hope Lance’s new wife doesn
I hope Lance’s new wife doesn’t mind if he cheats
I don’t care, why are you
I don’t care, why are you covering him?
C’mon folks, we need one every 15 minutes. I can’t believe you guys aren’t even trying!
Good working with you at
Good working with you at Dunfermline Iain Park (and all the others!)