Is THIS Britain's worst cycle lane? Bizarre barriers and cyclists dismount sign ridiculed on social media; Ineos follow new concussion protocol, withdraw Geoghegan Hart from Paris-Nice; Ink-redibly bad bike tattoo; E-bike helmets? + more on the live blog

It's not April fools yet is it? 😆

What's going on?@OxfordshireCC @OxfordCity @OxLivSts @CoHSATOxon @cycloxoxford https://t.co/RJFtuUf63j

— Pedal & Post Oxford (@PedalandPost) March 10, 2021

We've seen our fair share of neglected, dangerous and useless cycle lanes over the years here at road.cc, although this one probably falls more into the 'weird' category. What looks like a useable shared use path on Parks Road in Oxford City Centre has been rudely interrupted by a peculiar array of barriers and a 'cyclists dismount' sign, that Oxfordshire Cycling plus numerous others on social media have accused of being "inexcusable", "terrible" and not compatible with adaptive cycling amongst other things. 

Presumably it’s to make the lorry access to the building works in front of the NHM safe for cyclists, pedestrians and the lorry drivers? To slow cyclists down or make them dismount?

— Robin Williamson (@Robinc19) March 10, 2021

Were on it! Angry!

— Vaccinated Cllr Damian Haywood 💙 (@bigdamo) March 10, 2021

Fks sake. Why don't you use the cycle path? drivers ask. This is why.

— Corrie Jones (@corriemjones) March 10, 2021

Robin Williamson suggests the arrangement could be to slow cyclists down while navigating a section of the path that is next to some building works; but otherwise, most reactions have been scathing.

Local councillor Damian Haywood says he is "angry" and wanting to find out what happened, while another local commented: "I used to cycle this route pretty much every day and if I were to come across this obstacle tomorrow I’d just cycle round it on the grass so it’s not only stupid but completely useless at whatever it is it was designed to do."

road.cc has contacted Oxfordshire County Council for comment. 

Not our race this year. Sadly stage four concludes at #ParisNice without @taogeoghegan.

The young Brit was forced to abandon following a crash in the closing kilometres.

He will now head to hospital for further assessment. Medical update to follow later. pic.twitter.com/O8TaXk6rvu

— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) March 10, 2021

Ineos Grenadiers' sport director Gabriel Rasch confirmed Tao Geoghegan Hart has gone to hospital for further assessment. "His front wheel slipped in the corner," Rasch explained. "It was really bad luck. I don't know if there was some gravel or why exactly it slipped. He landed on his face and his head and his knee pretty badly. He was also a bit dizzy so we thought it was the right decision to stop him and not take any risks."

Tao took to Twitter shortly after to thank his medical team for putting his health first. The decision comes two days after questions were asked about the UCI's concussion protocol after Jumbo-Visma climber George Bennett continued after a crash despite snapping his helmet and looking visibly dizzy.

Landed on my head today. Thank you @INEOSGrenadiers & the medical team for putting my long-term welfare first when it was clear I wasn’t 100%. Little rest, no screen-time & hopefully back soon ❤️. Ciao all 👋 x

— Tao Geoghegan Hart (@taogeoghegan) March 10, 2021

Top-10 on Stage 1 of Tirreno-Adriatico pic.twitter.com/ijN8XrAilb

— the Inner Ring (@inrng) March 10, 2021

Wout van Aert responded to his disappointing result at Strade Bianche on Saturday in the best possible way by outsprinting Caleb Ewan and Fernando Gaviria to win the opening stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. Not a bad few minutes for Jumbo-Visma then, whose two biggest stars won two stages four minutes apart...It'll be a long, arduous day in the saddle for the peloton tomorrow with a 200km stage finishing with a climb at Chiusdino. Will Wout make it two from two?

🇮🇹#TirrenoAdriatico 🇧🇪Wout Van Aert es una máquina. Gana al sprint y es el primer líder de la Tirreno. Completa un día pletórico para el @JumboVismaRoad
Líderes en 🇮🇹Italia y 🇨🇵Francia
pic.twitter.com/9vBADQQHBp

— Nando Di María (FerNando Estupiñán) ® (@NandodiMaria) March 10, 2021

"He came in a bit hot into that corner" 💥

Tao Geoghegan Hart will lose some time here ⏱#ParisNice pic.twitter.com/fGnnIP0qT7

— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) March 10, 2021

Tao Geoghegan Hart has crashed out of Paris-Nice on the descent of the penultimate climb of today's stage. The leaders are on the final climb however Geoghegan Hart isn't with them, after suffering with the effects of the fall and abandoning the race. The Giro d'Italia champion fell on a tight bend, taking FDJ climber David Gaudu out on the way down.

We'll have the stage result in the next few minutes here on the blog and will keep you updated with any news from Ineos Grenadiers about Geoghegan Hart after the stage. 

Sometimes no words are needed! pic.twitter.com/UgXI3FUuJW

— GlobalCyclingNetwork (@gcntweet) March 10, 2021

We were all amazed by Van der Poel's  power numbers when he uploaded his Strade Bianche winning ride to Strava earlier this week. GCN, who broadcast the race, has overlaid his power data to the race footage to show exactly what a 1,000 watt attack looks like when you're watching on TV...

Jack here! The news that the Scottish brand Endura has developed a lid specifically for speed pedelec/e-bike riders has led to a couple of questions in the comments, so here's my best answer...

In the UK and most of Europe, a speed e-bike is any bike with pedals that has more than 250 watts of power and an assisted speed limit of 25kph (and a maximum speed of 45kph). You need a moped licence and insurance to ride one, and before 2017 a motorbike helmet was needed too. Recognising that these full-face helmets aren't really ideal for any kind of physical exercise, the EU published the NTA 8776 standard specifically for speed e-bike riders in late 2016. These helmets look more like conventional cycling helmets, but "protect against higher impact speeds and covers a larger part of the head" according to this explainer from Bike Europe. 

So in simple terms, Endura's new Speed Pedelec helmet complies with the NTA 8776 standard, as well as the CE standard EN1078 certification for conventional cycling helmets. If you want to find out more about riding a speed e-bike in the UK, plus what equipment and complicated documentation you'll need to do so legally, check out this guide on our sister site eBikeTips. 

Siri is there a German word for pleasure from not getting a tattoo https://t.co/ZQ2dMIu9ea

— Mike Conte (@MikeConte) March 10, 2021

As some of you have pointed out, the terrible bike tattoo also has a pedal the wrong way round too...Here's some more reader thoughts on the questionable artwork...

I know fixed gear enthusiast are often maligned, but that's a little harsh, don't you think? 😉

— Adam Griss (@mradamgriss) March 10, 2021

That bottom pedal is all kinds of wrong too.

— Johnny Crash (@Johnny_Crash) March 10, 2021

You'd have to really love bikes to get this inked on you for the rest of your life...Shared on a Reddit thread by DustlessPage, we're trying hard, and failing, to find positives about it. Did they run out of money before the wheels could be finished, or worse are his nipples meant to be the wheels?  

We've not seen too many dodgy cycling tattoos in our time so maybe this one can take home the prize, although it did remind us of Peter Sagan's Bora-Hansgrohe manager Ralph Denk getting the three-time world champion's brand logo tattooed on his ankle as a forefit...At least there weren't any nipples involved in that one.