Cyclist grabs the headlines with Hollywood moment (apparently he’s a footballer too); Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lanes? Because a skip, bins, and a sideways-parked car are in the way; Roubaix reaction + THAT post-monument run + more on the live blog

Drink it in folks… It may not be 2012 anymore, but a cyclist has finally made it back to the top of the BBC’s Sport page.

And no, I’m (unfortunately) not talking about Mathieu van der Poel or Alison Jackson. Apparently sporting chaos, gripping underdog stories, and existential, devastating drama aren’t enough to secure that coveted spot on the Beeb’s website – especially when there are managerial changes and transfer rumours, as well as some golf, to be had, of course.

But at least one cyclist did manage to make national sporting headlines in the UK this Easter weekend…

> Footballers who cycle XI — the Premier League stars who love life on two wheels

Ben Foster’s dramatic last-gasp penalty save against National League promotion rivals Notts County at the always sunny Racecourse Ground has put Wrexham – and the club’s Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – within touching distance of a long-awaited return to the Football League.

SCENES 😳@Wrexham_AFC's Ben Foster comes up BIG to save @Official_NCFC's last-minute penalty 🦸‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/n4ZBSMCrF5

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 10, 2023

An England international and former Manchester United, West Brom, and Watford player – but better known to road.cc readers as the Cycling Goalkeeper off YouTube – Foster postponed a retirement of riding his bike in the Alps and Pyrenees last month to star in a Disney show and meet Mac from Always Sunny… I mean, help his old club in their quest to return to the footballing promised land.

However, despite his two decades of success at football’s highest level, within some circles he’ll always be known as the Cycling GK:

YouTuber saves crucial penalty to put Ryan Reynolds' Wrexham top of the National Leaguepic.twitter.com/i84TQYvPUF

— Dexerto (@Dexerto) April 10, 2023

YouTuber? pic.twitter.com/TwAUSvlBui

— WrighteousJ (@wrighteousj) April 10, 2023

Been a professional goalkeeper for 22 years but don’t worry he’s a YouTuber 🤣

— Ty Bracey (@TyBracey) April 10, 2023

It’s always nice to see our old contributors doing well for themselves…

> "If a pro cyclist could come into a football club and show the players how hard they work it would really open their eyes", says Ben Foster

While this morning’s trip to Belfast showcased the plethora of wonderful things that can be used to obstruct an apparently protected bike path (bins, skips, and cars being the main examples), road.cc reader IanMK’s Easter spin through Buckinghamshire proved that even off-road cycleways are susceptible to being blocked by all manner of culprits… such as pubs, apparently.

Errr, there’s a pub in the middle of the cycleway

Ian’s intriguing cycleway prompted some speculation in the comments about how best to tackle such a quintessentially British off-road section:

And before you ask, yes, he did stop for a pint.

> Garmin offers more solar charging with new Edge 540 and Edge 840 Series GPS cycling computers

Now here’s a scoop that has Fabrizio Romano’s name written all over it…

Following Ben Foster’s heroics at the Racecourse Ground yesterday, former Barnsley, Torquay, and Preston North End midfielder Nicky Wroe has hinted on social media that he’d be interested in joining the bike-mad goalkeeper in road.cc’s illustrious Cycling Footballers XI:

@nickywroe How have you not made this article 😜?

— Ashley Marsh (@ashley_marsh) April 10, 2023

🤷🏼‍♂️

— nicky wroe (@nickywroe) April 10, 2023

However, according to our well-placed sources, co-managers Roberto Mancini and Neil Warnock are still contemplating whether they should acquiesce to current midfield general Remco Evenepoel’s astronomical contract demands, with Wroe potentially lined up as a ready-made replacement for the former PSV playmaker (and road race world champion).

Not sure what Roy Keane, currently languishing on the bench, giving off about Lycra shorts, will make of falling even further down the pecking order, mind you…

> Footballers who cycle XI — the Premier League stars who love life on two wheels

While the weekend undoubtedly belonged to Alison Jackson and Mathieu van der Poel, the post-Hell discourse on Monday focused on a rider who finished a lowly 128th in the Roubaix velodrome on Sunday.

Professional triathlete Cameron Wurf, who dabbles in a bit of domestique work for the Ineos Grenadiers on the side, set the internet ablaze on Sunday evening when he posted details of what some may describe as a pretty excessive warm down after 260km over the bone-shattering cobbles of northern France during the fastest ever Paris-Roubaix on record.

Nobody: “Might go for a 20km run after finishing #ParisRoubaix”

Cam Wurf: “Hold my bike!” pic.twitter.com/FFR5IwCpbn

— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) April 10, 2023

While Alpecin-Deceuninck were plotting which disco they were heading to next on Sunday evening, 39-year-old Australian Wurf was completing the equivalent of a half-marathon, and in a jaw-droppingly fast time too:

Or maybe he was just using the same GPS tracker as Tom Pidcock? (Though judging by Wurf’s Ironman results, I’d say not…)

> "Maybe he forgot to get off his bike": Running and cycling communities continue to question Pidcock's blistering 5k run

To continue with the ‘Using the hardest bike races in the world as training for triathlons’ theme, Wurf then went out for a relatively casual 50km spin on his bike yesterday, before completing a 3,000m, 52 minute “limb loosening” swim this morning.

Alongside riding a few stage races and classics for Ineos, the Australian – the oldest rider at this year’s Paris-Roubaix – has also notched up a top five at an Ironman in South Africa, as he builds towards the world championships in Nice in September.

Cameron Wurf went for a 20 KM run AFTER finishing Roubaix? Is this man actually okay pic.twitter.com/wGNSni0wfI

— Issie 💙 (@IssieAtch) April 10, 2023

Apparently Cameron Wurf ran a half marathon after racing Roubaix, I struggle stretching after a 2 hours ride, but ehi I am really good at crosswords

— Ginevra (@ginevragarga) April 11, 2023

While most fans have expressed their amazement at Wurf’s multi-tasking ability, GCN’s statsman Cillian Kelly, rather mischievously, pondered on Twitter whether Ineos leader Filippo Ganna, who battled to sixth in the Roubaix velodrome, may have benefitted from the support of a rider not treating the Hell of the North as phase one of his Sunday training plans:

Down over 20 minutes by the end of the race, but if I was Ganna, finding out that Wurf had enough energy left to go running 20km after Paris Roubaix, I would be wondering why Wurf was selected for the team in the first place.

— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) April 10, 2023

Though, let’s face it, most of us would be confined to the sofa for a week after riding one-third of the Paris-Roubaix cobbles…

Wurf also found time before the race on Sunday morning to crack a few jokes with the motor-doping checkers, with whom he pleaded for some leniency based on his geriatric status in the bunch:

Cameron Wurf telling the UCI officials to stop scanning his bike because as the oldest guy he needs all the help he can get is sending me 🤣 #ParisRoubaix

— Issie 💙 (@IssieAtch) April 9, 2023

I’m sure those pleas will fall on deaf ears when they see your Strava profile, Cameron…

I really wish the above number were just a mildly amusing exaggeration, but I feel like we’re swiftly approaching those lofty heights of bike lane blocking on the live blog…

In Belfast, where cycle lane obstructing is becoming a national sport (along with not sitting in government), bike lanes aren’t actually designed for people on bikes, you see.

They’re really storage units for bins and skips, while the bollards – far from keeping cyclists safe from encroaching drivers (ha!) – provide a handy marker for motorists who’ve spotted a lovely sideways parking space near the city centre:

"Why do cyclists never use cycle lanes?"

The cycle lanes: pic.twitter.com/8taXrPpaiJ

— The Belfast Urbanist 💚🚋 (@BelfastUrbanist) April 10, 2023

And just around the corner.....🤦‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/BKMYx5tPuz

— North Belfast Cycle Campaign (@NBCycleCampaign) April 10, 2023

It is so very frustrating. There is so little cycling infrastructure in the city, so to see it treated like this is really disheartening.

— North Belfast Cycle Campaign (@NBCycleCampaign) April 10, 2023