Cyclists warned about ‘dooring’ drivers – while staging protest calling for protected bike lanes; Harry Styles cycling in one direction; Pro cyclists in civvies; Tour of Turkey monster climb; 47-year-old ex-doper wins stage race + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Riding in One Direction: Harry Styles spotted on Lime bike in London with James Corden
✨ Did you spot Harry Styles + James Cordon cycling London on @limebike? Credit: Insta- lifethrufilmz pic.twitter.com/yIDLJHYlme
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) October 10, 2023
Cycling in one direction, geddit? Ah, I’ll get my coat…
Though bonus points go to road.cc editor Jack who, after seeing the celebs on a bike post, quipped: “Good to see Harry riding with a helmet”.
Savage…
Pro cyclists in their civvies: Geraint Thomas and Ineos enjoy some post-season relaxation
Yes, yes, I know Cav and co. are still racing in Turkey, but for cycling traditionalists like myself, the weekend of the Tour of Lombardy and Paris-Tours means only one thing: the road racing season is over!
And for Geraint Thomas, Filippo Ganna, Thymen Arensman, Ben Swift, Pavel Sivakov, Laurens De Plus, and the rest of the Ineos Grenadiers Giro d’Italia squad, that apparently also means sampling the high life in Monaco – from chilling on a yacht (I wonder if it’s Sir Jim’s?)…
Its that time of year where I stop checking cyclists Insta posts..
They are in Monaco and I’m in Bedfordshire… no I’m not jealous at all 😭 pic.twitter.com/PKOXjdcSZM
— Anna Mac 👑🪱 🌈🖤 (@AnnamacB) October 9, 2023
… to hitting the night club (Monte Carlo’s white shirt shops won’t go out of business anytime soon, by the looks of things).
End of season bants with the Giro boys #squad pic.twitter.com/0HqKIwJ4sR
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) October 9, 2023
Hashtag bantz from G and the lads, lads, lads…
Of course, the October holiday season has also ushered in another round of every cycling fan’s favourite – and toughest – game: Name the pro cyclist in their civvies…
Me trying to recognise pro cyclists in civvies. 🤔 https://t.co/qJcLaWz5hR pic.twitter.com/u2Ih3j874w
— Belinda (@reallyspoketome) October 10, 2023
It’s mad that they’re easier to recognise when they’re wearing sunglasses, helmets and exactly the same kit than when they’re just in normal clothes.
— Kazimierz Kapusniak (@letmeseethatkaz) October 10, 2023
Now, be honest – would you recognise De Plus if he were standing beside you in Tesco?
Two live blogs Jeremy?!
Ah, it’s that time of the year again (or month, because it seems as if Amazon are holding these bloody things every few weeks now), when there are two live blogs on the homepage, and we duck for cover to avoid flying accusations from readers claiming we’re supporting naked consumerism and the crushing hegemony and greed of an international retail giant with a questionable approach to its workforce…
> Best Amazon Prime Day cycling deals live blog
But I know you’ll probably have a quick look anyway – on your way to supporting your local bike shop…
Lidl-branded tractor, coming to the front of a peloton near you soon: Lidl-Trek confirm signing of Tim Declercq from Soudal Quick-Step
There have been murmurings about this signing for a while – in fact, we reported it on the blog almost a month ago, before all that Visma-Soudal merger nonsense even kicked off – but the news was finally made official this morning: ‘El Tractor’ Tim Declercq has signed for Lidl-Trek after seven seasons with Soudal Quick-Step.
The 34-year-old Flemish rider has been an almost constant presence on the front of the peloton in the classics and sprint stages – controlling things for his teammates and killing breaks at will – since joining Patrick Lefevere’s squad from Topsport Vlaanderen in 2017.
The tractor, pulling everyone along at the front, as usual… (SWpix.com)
And while the merger rumours have finally been quashed, Declercq’s departure to Lidl-Trek – where he has signed a deal that runs until the end of 2025 – signals another move away from Soudal Quick-Step’s traditional classics-oriented approach to a more stage racing-focused lineup in the service of Remco Evenepoel.
El Tractor, meanwhile, may be in different colours next year, but it is unlikely his role in the bunch will change, as he aims to keep things nicely under control for Mads Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven in the spring classics.
A rider that needs little introduction, because you’ve seen him lead the peloton for countless kilometers! 🚜
Welcome to the Team, @Tim_Declercq 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣
📰 https://t.co/qlld4BMGVr pic.twitter.com/WbQTfQYUJM
— Lidl-Trek (@LidlTrek) October 10, 2023
“I think Lidl-Trek is a growing team with great values,” Declercq said. “They ride attractively and are stepping up their game every year. I’m super excited to join them.
“It seems a bit like the Lidl logo is chasing me during my career! But, I think it’s great for cycling that such a big firm wants to invest in cycling. That they chose the Lidl-Trek team to sponsor only shows that it’s a super professional team with great values.
“Of course it will be very strange to leave Quick Step after all those years. Some people of the staff and riders really became friends after all this time, and I’ve got some great moments together. On the other hand, the last few years the team has also not been the same anymore and I really look forward to a new challenge.
“I know most of the Belgians quite well, and I think we will have a lot of fun during training camps. I also look forward to working for every rider the team wants me to, but for sure I hope to be of value to Mads Pedersen in the classics and the Grand Tours.”
On a more important note – that is definitely my favourite of the jazzy retro Lidl-Trek transfer t-shirts (and to be fair, the quality has been high). Could you send a medium over to the road.cc office, Lidl? Cheers.
Nothing to see here, just 47-year-old former doper Óscar Sevilla winning the Tour of Hainan, move along now…
In news that will come as a welcome boost for those of you starting to feel your age on the bike – or anyone currently serving a suspension of any kind – 47-year-old Óscar Sevilla clinched the five-day Tour of Hainan stage race in China yesterday, beating relative whippersnappers Ben Hermans (37) and James Piccoli (32), as well as actual young gun, Israel-Premier Tech’s 23-year-old Sebastian Berwick, by just one second on GC.
Quasiment 80 jours de course pour l’ancienne chaudière Oscar Sevilla.
Seulement 47 ans, et on termine l’année tout frais par une victoire en Pro Series, c’est beau les contrôles positifs, ça conserve ! pic.twitter.com/VRs4uY4RE8
— Charles Marsault (@CharlesMarsault) October 9, 2023
To put Sevilla’s victory – his seventh of the season and the 49th of his 25-year-long career – into perspective, the Spanish rider turned pro for Kelme in 1998, nine months before Tadej Pogačar was born, and finished second at the 2001 Vuelta a España, as well as seventh at that year’s Tour de France, a full year before Juan Ayuso was born.
Like many pro riders of his vintage, Sevilla’s past is somewhat chequered. After T-Mobile gave him the boot in 2006 when his name popped up during Operación Puerto, he eventually ended up at style icons/doper’s refuge Rock Racing (ah, Rock Racing, those were the days), where he picked up a ban after testing positive for blood plasma expander Hydroxyethyl starch.
Returning to racing in 2011 at the age of 34, Sevilla has since forged a successful second career in Colombia, continuing to win against decent opposition as he approaches the end of his fifth decade and after a quarter of a century racing his bike as a pro.
It makes you wonder why he even bothered with the drugs in the first place. Or…
It’s almost time: The hardest climb in pro cycling approaches at the Tour of Turkey
We’re fewer than 20 kilometres away from the foot of Mount Babadag, the 18km, 10.3 percent average monster that serves as the frankly savage finale to stage three of the Tour of Turkey this afternoon.
With nine kilometres of the final climb averaging over 12 percent, sections that hit ludicrous numbers, a rough surface, and even a cobbled section for good measure, the Babadag has the potential on paper to make the Angliru and Zoncolan look like measly bumps on the road in comparison.
Just to underline how tough this summit finish is going to be, Carlton Kirby has already uttered the phrase ‘coping strategy’ three times in the first two minutes of the live coverage.
Get the popcorn out, we could be in for a lunchtime cracker. Or at least an hour of pro cyclists struggling to ride their bikes in a straight line, anyway…
“I believe he will”: Chris Froome confident “special” Mark Cavendish will break Tour de France stage wins record
Speaking of old timers hoping for one last shot at glory, Chris Froome has backed former teammate Mark Cavendish to secure the 35th, record-breaking, Tour de France stage win of his career next year, urging the “special” sprinter to “make even more history” in 2024.
Meanwhile Froome, speaking at the Tour of Hainan – where he finished 63rd, over 34 minutes down on 47-year-old winner Óscar Sevilla – also asserted his ambition to return to the Tour next July (when he will be 39), and that he is “really looking forward to seeing where I can get to”, having overcome bike position issues and back pain by reverting to his Team Sky Pinarello position on his team-issue Factor.
Is a Cavendish stage win and Froome GC challenge double on the cards for next year’s Tour? If I’m honest, one of those comeback stories is more likely to happen than the other…
La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, one of Africa’s biggest stage races, postponed following coup d’état in Gabon
La Tropicale Amissa Bongo 2024 cancelled
The 17th edition of the Tropicale Amissa Bongo will not take place in next January
This decision, in agreement with the authorities, is dictated by a rethinking of the priorities for the coming months, in the context of the renewal of… pic.twitter.com/skf53NmuZ6
— Kayishema Tity Thierry (@TityKayishema) October 9, 2023
The African racing scene has suffered a blow this week with the news that La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, a week-long stage race which usually takes place in January, has been postponed for the foreseeable future amidst the uncertain political situation in Gabon.
The race, won by TotalEnergies’ Vuelta stage winner Geoffrey Soupe earlier this year and a launching pad for the careers of the likes of Biniam Girmay, Natnael Berhane, and Daniel Teklehaimanot, is named in honour of Albertine Amissa Bongo, the daughter of former Gabon president Omar Bongo, who led the country from 1967 to his death in 2009, and the sister of recent deposed president Ali Bongo.
Bongo has been under house arrest since late August, following a military coup which brought an end to the 56-year-long rule of his controversial family in Gabon.
And yesterday, as the new regime promised free elections sometime in 2024, Rwandan journalist Kayishema Tity Thierry confirmed that the race, set to take place between 22 and 28 January, which bears the Bongo name will not go ahead.
“The 17th edition of the Tropicale Amissa Bongo will not take place next January,” he posted on social media.
“This decision, in agreement with the authorities, is dictated by a rethinking of the priorities for the coming months, in the context of the renewal of the institutions of the Republic of Gabon.”
‘Yep, just pave the whole way to the garage at the top, it’ll look great’
This climb is insane. Looks like the world’s longest driveway #TUR2023 pic.twitter.com/xBPB2Ydtn3
— Peter Cossins (@petercossins) October 10, 2023
For an 18km driveway, the team cars seem to be struggling as much as the riders themselves – the Astana car almost rolled back down the mountain just now…
Alexey Lutsenko grinds away from Ben Zwiehoff to take stage win and race lead at Tour of Turkey, as riders scattered all over brutal Babadag climb
Well, Mount Babadag certainly lived up to its billing, scattering riders all over its 10 percent-plus gradients and weird clinker-based road, as out front Astana’s Alexey Lutsenko continued his late-season tour of redemption by coming out on top against Bora-Hansgrohe’s Ben Zwiehoff in an attritional battle at the summit of the savage, picturesque climb.
Lutsenko, who has followed up an underwhelming Tour de France with wins at the Circuito de Getxo, Memorial Marco Pantani, and the Asian Games time trial, grimly rode away from the impressive Zwiehoff – who had pushed the pace for most of the final section of the 18km climb – in the final kilometre, eventually putting 12 seconds into the German after a carefully calculated ride on the hour-plus test.
Alexey Lutsenko conquers Badabag to win Stage 3 of the Tour of Turkey! 🗻#TUR2023 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/r4g0smYbj8
— Eurosport (@eurosport) October 10, 2023
The finale proved to be head-to-head battle between Astana and Bora, who decimated the field over halfway up the climb, with Lutsenko’s teammate Harold Tejada finishing third, 27 seconds down, and 23-year-old Czech Tour winner Florian Lipowitz holding on for fourth, ahead of Q36.5’s Matteo Badilatti and Green Project-Bardiani’s Giulio Pellizzari.
Behind that front six, separated by less than a minute and a half, the gaps turned into chasms, with UAE Team Emirates’ pre-stage favourite Jay Vine the highest profile casualty on a climb where there was simply no place to hide.
Though, with only 16 seconds separating Lutsenko and Zwiehoff at the top of the GC, the Tour of Turkey’s organisers will be relieved that their experimental leg-breaker of a summit finish – one that could perhaps eventually forge its own identity as one of the sport’s toughest tests – did not also turn out to be a race killer.
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Riding a bike > Driving a car
⛰️ The final climb, Babadağ, in today’s stage of the @tourofturkiye was so steep it even put the@AstanaQazTeam car in trouble! 🚙 #TUR2023 pic.twitter.com/cE2E14W22s
— GCN Racing (@GcnRacing) October 10, 2023
To be fair, there may have been more than a few sprinters at the back pulling that same manoeuvre as they struggled to the finish today…
15-minute cities, anyone?
Labour — almost certainly the next government — will build townhouses in first ten years in power, Sir Keir Starmer to say in today’s speech. Doctors’ surgeries, schools, transport links and shops to be “hardwired” into plans.
15-minute cities, then!
— Carlton Reid (@carltonreid) October 10, 2023
And before the conspiracy theories jump up and start shouting, Carlton continued: “15-minute cities DO NOT involve permits to visit shops etc The urban design concept provides amenities nearby so residents don’t need to drive places, but can do so when needs must.
“Expect local councils to get more powers and more cash to create Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, although they definitely won’t be called that. Tory antipathy to people-friendly streets — a recent, misguided policy — will fade to grey before disappearing as if it never happened.
“LTNs and 15-minute cities etc will disappear, but in name only. When shown the reality, most people will prefer to live in, you know, liveable communities. The byword will be ‘walkability’ — places where it’s easy to walk to everything you need. Why do some hate this concept?”
Let the (hopefully) conspiracy-free rebranding of LTNs and 15-minute cities commence…
“If mandatory safety measures are acceptable for car drivers, they should surely be acceptable for cyclists”: Ah, the helmet debate, how I’ve missed you…
Despite repeated opposition to the idea of mandatory helmet laws for cyclists from his own party’s government, one Conservative MP has penned an opinion piece explaining why he believes such legislation should be introduced.
Just last December the Department for Transport insisted that the government has “no intention” to make wearing a helmet while cycling a legal requirement.
However, Mark Pawsey, MP for Rugby in the West Midlands, has said he will “continue to call for change” having first raised the issue in Parliament in June.
Read more: > Conservative MP cites “safety” and attempts to reignite cyclist helmet debate
Enjoy your local canal – just not on a bike, of course
Last night’s story on Worcester’s “non-inclusive, shambles” kissing gate has inspired some cyclists on social media to post their own examples of not-quite-bike-friendly entrances to shared-use paths, including this cracker from Derbyshire’s Erewash Canal, complete with ironic welcome sign:
Never miss an opportunity to post this beauty. pic.twitter.com/NxfHPTDLLo
— CycleNotts² (@CycleNott) October 10, 2023
“That’s a dooring waiting to happen”: Cyclists warned about ‘dooring’ drivers – while staging protest calling for protected bike lanes
Grab your deep-dish pizza ovens and Smashing Pumpkins records, because we’re heading over to Chicago, where a group of cyclists staged a protest at the weekend calling on the Department of Transportation to install more segregated infrastructure along the city’s bike lanes – by forming their own “people-protected bike lane”.
So many came out to join the Human- Protected bike lane to demand our elected officials and @ChicagoDOT build physical protection on Halsted Street’s bike lane and bike lanes across the city pic.twitter.com/iYKXFKUd4x
— Sierra Club Chicago (@SierraChicago) October 8, 2023
The safety of cyclists in the Illinois city has come under scrutiny in recent months, especially following the death last June of three-year-old cyclist Lily Shambrook, who was killed by a lorry driver after moving out onto the road due to a truck being illegally parked in the bike lane at a traffic light.
While Chicago’s Department of Transport says that “more miles of protected lanes and low-stress bikeways [are being] installed than ever before”, cyclists in the city maintain that not enough is being done to properly protect people on bikes.
Utilising the oft-repeated cycling mantra, ‘Paint is not protection’, the impressive display was organised by several cycling activist groups on Halsted Street, a major north-south road in Chicago, to demonstrate to the local authority that cycling in Chicago “should be this safe every single day”.
Today we showed out and built a massive display of protection for cyclists on Halsted. Biking on Halsted — and everywhere else in Chicago — should be this safe every single day.
You deserve better streets. #SafeStreetsForAll pic.twitter.com/L8HzYsi5Qc
— Better Streets Chicago (@chi_streets) October 8, 2023
However, eagle-eyed viewers will notice that the lack of physical protection on the Halsted bike lane – apart from the temporary line of humans, obviously – isn’t the only thing questionable about that particular lane’s design.
In fact, it seems as if Trafford Council – the implementers of the now-infamous contraflow ‘dooring’ lane/car park in Altrincham – may have been taking notes from across the Atlantic.
And the lack of protection on both sides of Halsted’s painted bike lane wasn’t lost on cyclists on Ex-Twitter.
“Awesome! (Though I’m worried about doors)”, wrote Chris, prompting Better Streets Chicago, one of the groups organising the protest, to respond: “No need to be! We were very conscious of any drivers entering or exiting vehicles.”
Here showing solidarity for the Human Powered Bike Lane on N Halsted! Huge turnout from folks who all agree that we need protected bike lanes now! pic.twitter.com/UYNlT4BIUY
— Sierra Club Chicago (@SierraChicago) October 8, 2023
However, another user pointed out that, even with the utmost caution exercised by cyclists using it, the lane’s design is inherently flawed.
“Sadly that narrow bike lane directly adjacent to parked vehicles is not safe for any cyclist. “That’s a dooring waiting to happen,” they said.
I suppose it’s reassuring to know that terrible bike lane design isn’t just a UK phenomenon, eh?
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Latest Comments
@OnYerBike "illegal e-moto" should do it for the non-pedal variants and "illegal e-moped" if you want to get particular about those DIY conversions with pedals.
Seems like there's way too much "tech" here (braking distribution?) ... ... but of course the target market seems to be folks who are looking to replace part of "car" and certainly aren't fussed about getting into bike mechanics, so perhaps the more of this the better? Anyway, slightly surprised this is (apparently) popular in what is AFAICS a pretty crowded market; Cube probably setting the pace * with their "little big longtail" bikes, which many others seem to have borrowed from. * I'd bet that this isn't a new idea but they seem to have very good designs, albeit heavy on the tech themselves (ABS was it?)
@mark1212123 Or even "what are our transport needs, what do we think we'll need in the future, what other important properties may impact that" etc. The latter might be not paying millions to keep repairing public infra, resilience (eg. less reliance on products from "difficult" regions, less impermeable surfaces which cause rapid run-off), local "places" and businesses, public safety, health... And on that perhaps encouraging people (and especially children) to get out more for both physical and mental health, which would suggest we need places where people find it feels safe and pleasant for young and old to be moving outside, where you can hear others speak, where you're not breathing in particulates or stopping and waiting for a minute every time you go to the other side of the street... Motor vehicles are space inefficient and also take over spaces - hence the urban "geometry problem". FWIW while it's hard to imagine in the UK that conversation has happened elsewhere. In places like eg. Amsterdam ("Amsterdam makes space" - a plan removing thousands of on-street parking spaces and narrowing roads - which people have voted for!), Utrecht (removing the inner ring road etc), perhaps Paris...
@mark1212123 Well, yes, in that there are more people now than say 1990, and (I think) more of them drive... ...but also it just so happens that some road users are more equal than others, allotted a couple of living-rooms' worth of space. Plus as private motor vehicles get bigger and people are not all piling in one mini anymore they're getting even more space. And also those "small roads" were often "streets" not long back. We've kept the "through-access" available even though they weren't designed for it and they can't easily be expanded for that. And/or the "smallness" of the road is because there are actually three or four lanes of motor vehicles - one or two are all the parked cars we can't "see" when we think "narrow street"...
@Rian_constant : I have the exact same issue with a totally different light: the Lupine SL Grano. Has a cutoff to avoid blinding oncoming traffic and also throws out a carpet of light. It’s ok 80% of the time but my commute takes me through a couple of pitch dark stretches where it’s simply not enough, certainly not riding at road speeds around 30-33 kmph average. It’s great in every other respect but that’s simply something that needs fixing. I’m willing to pay but want to be certain that it works and I’ve seen too many long exposure beam shots that appear to show unrealistic levels of illumination.
Mark's a great bloke. He and I have done similar football related cycling challenges (mine around Crystal Palace) and we met when he cycled to Palace a few years ago. I'm gutted for him.
I'd call it more of a pick-up truck than an SUV, but I expect they want to market it more to people who are trying to replace their SUV rather than a pickup. I own a longtail e-cargo bike that I'm very happy with and would never want a front loader. It's going to be tricky to make the rear suspension work well and not compromise other aspects. Not something that I would trust to a kickstarter project.
@Peterjbdk Even the Government’s Road Safety Strategy says that – Vision Zero... The January 2026 Road Safety Strategy says lots of things- almost none of the important ones are even taken seriously by the government itself, which is why they're 'consulting' on them for long enough that the document is sunk without trace in a sea of digital dust. The police will sabotage anything they don't like, which includes anything to the benefit of cycling and cyclists- how much more evident that they won't lift a finger can it be when Essex and Kent police collude to refuse to even look at close-passing videos when there has been no collision NO MATTER HOW CLOSE. This is 'get yourself KSI'd and we'll see what we can do': Vision Zero?! Sod That for a Lark is the police vision. Pretty much the whole 'strategy' is complete fiction, with no expectation that anything will change if drivers wouldn't like it. As for the 'consultations' on whether driving without MOT or insurance, or with illegal/ fake plates are genuinely a bad thing deserving more than joke punishment...?! Lancashire Police were informed regularly, with photos, for over a year that HN21 VXB was without MOT or VED. I've put many of the photos on here. The police refused to respond after PC Mike Duff of Garstang Neighbourhood Policing Team told me back in January 26 not to tell him about such 'alleged offences' because he didn't have time to look into them. It was only when I sent the Bent Coppers this without comment, taken at the driver's house, that they got worried and suddenly something changed:
I'd rather adopt the habit of staying the hell away altogether in the very busy Christmas shopping season.
[Leaving aside the quibble over possession vs use] Why not 'illegal e-motorbike'? That's accurate and specific.
11 thoughts on “Cyclists warned about ‘dooring’ drivers – while staging protest calling for protected bike lanes; Harry Styles cycling in one direction; Pro cyclists in civvies; Tour of Turkey monster climb; 47-year-old ex-doper wins stage race + more on the live blog”
“I suppose it’s reassuring to
“I suppose it’s reassuring to know that terrible bike lane design isn’t just a UK phenomenon, eh?”
No, but we can take pride in being world leaders.
eburtthebike wrote:
Sadly, Grate Bwitain is world leader in just about crap everything. We seem to be heading for 3rd-world status, probably via the middle-world status of, “A banana republic run by some sort of fascist oligarchy”. In truth we already have that latter status.
Will the Bwitish electoral system rescue us in a year’s time? One hopes … but feels pessimistic nevertheless.
Cugel wrote:
— CugelIf Starmer committed to proportional representation, then I’d grit my teeth and vote for him.
eburtthebike wrote:
If Seven bins Sunak gets in we’re all going to blame you!
Cugel wrote:
I think we’ve had the ‘fascist oligarchy’ thing for a long time…
Cancelling a road race just
Cancelling a road race just ’cause there’s been a coup d’etat? Huh – the youth of today, eh? 😉
I sometimes have trouble
I sometimes have trouble recognising people I cycle with regularly when I see them without their helmets and sunglasses on.
andystow wrote:
Sounds like another vote for pedestrian helmets to me 😉
No Amazon as a rule.
No Amazon as a rule.
There are very exceptional circumstances where I’ll flout that, but bargains certainly aren’t one.
That’s pretty much my
That’s pretty much my philosophy. Jeff certainly doesn’t need my money, and the world needs less Amazon.
Bullies win.
Bullies win.
World Bollards Association deeply disappointed.
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23844898.exchange-street-norwich-re-open-closure-scrapped/?ref=rss
” a U-turn by council leaders who said it was proving too hard to enforce drivers ignoring the rules”