Cyclist hospitalised after crashing into garden waste “maliciously” dumped on cycle path; No sticky bottles for Bardet Jnr; Arsenal’s squad cycle to work; Is it time for a grey jersey at the Tour de France?; New LEJOGLE attempt + more on the live blog

We’re kicking things off on today’s blog with a rather unusual, and extremely dangerous, example to file in the by-now bulging ‘Why some cyclists don’t use cycle paths’ folder…

Last month, a pensioner from Bury St Edmunds was seriously injured after crashing into a pile of garden waste that had been dumped across a rural off-road cycle path.

Ted Saunders, who’s in his 60s, suffered two broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and a collapsed lung in the crash, and was coughing up blood during his four-day stint in West Suffolk Hospital, Suffolk News reports.

The cyclist’s wife Liane said the decision to dump the waste at the end of a popular cycle path – either through “thoughtlessness or maliciousness” – “is beyond my comprehension”.

At around 7.45am on 25 June, during an early morning spin, Ted was riding along National Cycle Route 13 when he collided with the garden waste, which was obscured by both the direction the cyclist was travelling from and the overgrown nature of the route.

“Because of the time of year, the cycle path was a bit overgrown anyway, that’s why he was concentrating on avoiding the brambles and the overhead, by the time he noticed the debris it was too late to do anything,” Liane said. “He went over and his bike went after him.”

After Ted was released from hospital, Liane noticed on a local Facebook group that another resident had posted a photograph of the fly-tipping and reported it to West Suffolk Council, who removed the waste.

> Popular walking and cycling path "(almost) inaccessible to motorists" blocked by crashed car

“I just thought this is unbelievable,” Liane continued.

“Someone has either been very, very thoughtless or they’ve made a conscious decision to put a whole load of garden waste at the end of a very narrow, dark, rural, cycle path. Then I got a bit annoyed.

“It could have been worse, he could have been knocked out and nobody would have known where he was.”

Liane, who reported the incident to the council and the police, says: “I just don’t understand why they did it there, and when I have shown other people they have said ‘that looks deliberate, that looks malicious’.

“We know that fly-tipping happens, you see it as you go past and it is unsightly and hazardous. But to put it at the end of a cycle path, something that people are using, it is beyond my comprehension.”

According to Liane, over two weeks after the crash Ted remains in “a great deal of pain” and is struggling to sleep.

“The result of this accident is that he won’t be able to go to the gym for a while or cycle,” she says. “That’s the big downside of it, just from someone's thoughtlessness or maliciousness.”

> Cyclist seriously injured after wire stretched across bike path

A spokesperson for West Suffolk Council said: “Those who illegally dump waste or allow others to do so on their behalf are criminally liable and can cause harm to others as well as the local environment.

“We are sorry to hear of the injuries to the cyclist caused by the illegal and thoughtless acts of others and wish him well in his recovery.

“We removed the fly-tipping as soon as we were able and would warn people that they cannot only be prosecuted for fly-tipping but can be liable if they have their waste taken away and it is dumped as they need to take reasonable steps to check if the people they are using are registered waste carriers.”

And just when you thought upended cars were your only worry on off-road bike paths…

Pello Bilbao dédie sa victoire à Gino Mäder sur le podium. #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/BuqmBoIisa

— Le Gruppetto (@LeGruppetto) July 11, 2023

On a baking hot day in central France Pello Bilbao proved he possessed the breakaway’s coolest head, refusing to panic during a chaotic finale before outsprinting Georg Zimmermann in Issoire to secure his first ever Tour de France stage win, 13 years into his pro career.

The 33-year-old Basque climber’s tactical nous not only netted him the emotional victory – which he dedicated to Bahrain Victorious teammate and friend Gino Mäder, who died following a crash at last month’s Tour de Suisse – but also saw him vault up the GC to fifth place, following one of the most anarchic Tour stages in recent memory.

The constantly lumpy 167km across the Massif Central, played out in stifling 35°C-plus heat, had everything you could possibly want from a Tour de France stage.

A frenetic opening hour saw the big two, Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, skip up the road in an early break, forcing the teams of other GC contenders, such as Ineos and Bora, into a desperate chase.

Even once that plucky move was extinguished, the relentless pace, and perhaps a touch of post-rest day lethargy, saw French hopes David Gaudu and Romain Bardet stranded out the back, two minutes down. After another fierce chase from behind, a gathering of Jumbo-Visma riders finally restored a semblance of order by the stage’s halfway mark.

(A.S.O./Charly Lopez)

Not that that message was relayed to the riders who eventually constituted the breakaway, however, with different groups coalescing and fracturing in equal measure throughout the hilly finale (nor was it passed onto perennial rivals Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, who briefly – and rather mysteriously – launched a joint attack, for the iconic imagery it would generate if nothing else).

The constant chaos of the stage’s opening portion gave way to an equally chaotic and delicately poised three-tier pursuit match towards the finish, as Israel-Premier Tech’s incredibly strong Krists Neilands forged ahead alone into a strong wind, in a bid to hold off a group containing Bilbao, Zimmerman, Esteban Chaves, and a resurgent Ben O’Connor.

Behind that group, an intimidating quartet of Mattias Skjelmose, Julian Alaphilippe, Warren Barguil, and Michal Kwiatkowski lurked menacingly but ultimately toothlessly in the background.

With Neilands eventually brought to heel, the closing kilometres were exhilaratingly fluid, as attacks formed and evaporated in the scorching heat like a distracted child’s ice cream.

But amidst all the chaos, Bilbao remained present and cool, following Zimmerman’s late attack, before taking advantage of the German’s involuntary lead out and shockingly large gear to seal an emotional, and perfectly executed, win.

Pello Bilbao judged the finale to perfection 💪

The Team Bahrain Victorious rider wins Stage 10 of the Tour de France from the breakaway and dedicates the victory to Gino Mäder ❤️️
______________
🇫🇷 #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/xVG60sHEZL

— Velon CC (@VelonCC) July 11, 2023

“Neilands did an impressive attack. I think he was the strongest one but he spent a lot of energy with a hard wind in the face,” Bilbao, whose win and three-minute advantage over the peloton also saw him move up to fifth on GC and firmly enter the battle for an overall podium place, said after the stage.

“In the back group, we collaborated and in the last 3km I knew I was probably the fastest man in the group. I took the responsibility, I closed the gap to O’Connor first, then with cold blood let Zimmermann make his sprint and got on the wheel, and then went full in the last 200 metres without thinking of nothing.”

Dedicating his victory to the memory of Mäder, an emotional Bilbao added: “I crossed the line and just put out all the anger I had inside, remembering the reason for this victory. It’s a special one for Gino. It was the only reason. It was hard to prepare the last two weeks with him in mind. I put all my positive energy to do something nice in the Tour.”

Overgrown cycleways are becoming a bit of a theme this summer, it seems…

After this morning’s complaints of a narrow, ill-kempt off-road bike path in Bury St Edmunds, cyclists in Oxfordshire have complained to the local council about the cycle lane on the A40 between Witney and Oxford, which they say has become overgrown with grass and weeds, reducing it to “less than half its original width”.

“It is now very dangerous to pass oncoming cyclists and pedestrians safely,” Witney cyclist Paul Elliott told the Oxford Mail about the untidy bike lane.

“The grass and weeds have encroached onto the actual path making it less than half its original width. I’ve reported this several times over the last few years to FixMyStreet, each time being told this complaint is closed or already reported by someone else.

“This is a complete joke. If the maintenance was kept up it would cost less in the long term.”

Other residents using Fix My Street have also raised concerns about overhanging trees on the cycleway, with one noting that “it is not possible to cycle along this stretch without having to lower your head”.

“This stretch of the cycle path is sloped and consequently is a fast section when travelling towards Oxford with no barriers between the cycle path and major trunk road,” the local said.

“If a cyclist were to collide with this tree branch, the cyclist would fall into the traffic lane of the A40 with traffic arriving from behind with the potential for very serious injuries."

Another added: “The footpath around the pull-in at the bus stop is so overgrown that it is now almost impassable. This is dangerous for pedestrians and cyclist alike as it forces them to proceed onto the highway, in the opposite direction to the traffic flow.”

In response, Oxfordshire County Council said that work was carried out on the path in June, but following another inspection last week, further trimming will be commissioned – despite the authority’s claim that the path is still “able to be used”.

Everyone celebrates the Tour in their own way. This chap dresses as a fish with a Pinot sign 😅🇫🇷#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/CrfaISye8s

— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 11, 2023

I reckon the Pinot-supporting fish beats the Banana-wearing Pidcock lookalike in the crazy fan stakes, but that’s just me (and if you couldn’t tell already, things have calmed a bit in the actual race. Just a bit, mind you).

From the Giant TCR and Scott Addict of the late 2000s, to the ultra-modern Specialized Tarmac SL7, take a trip down memory lane and reminisce about Mark Cavendish’s record-equalling Tour de France career, by way of the Manx Missile’s stage-winning steeds…

> Mark Cavendish’s Tour de France bikes through the years — from Scott to Specialized, here’s every bike the Manx Missile won 34 Tour stages on 

When you head out for a leisurely post-work spin this evening, spare a thought for Louise Harris, who is now on the sixth day of her mammoth attempt to break the Guinness World Record for riding from Land’s End to John O’Groats… and back.

The Bristol-based endurance cyclist is aiming to break the LEJOGLE record of 11 days, 13 hours, and 13 minutes, set by 54-year-old Marcia Roberts, who battled through Storm Francis and saddle sores to become the first woman to officially record a time for the long ride south to north and back again in January 2022.

Louise reached John O’Groats, her halfway mark, just before 11pm last night, after four days and 17 hours in the saddle. According to her live tracker, she’s currently making her way back down the A9, approaching Brora, on her way to Inverness.

As well as the record attempt, Louise is putting herself through days of pain and suffering on the bike to raise awareness and money for the charity Galgos Del Sol, which rescues, rehomes, and rehabilitates Galgos, a Spanish breed of hunting dog. You can find more information about her attempt and the charity on Louise’s JustGiving page.

With Tadej Pogačar all but certain to add a fourth white jersey to his collection at this year’s Tour de France, eclipsing Jan Ullrich and Andy Schleck as the most successful ‘young rider’ in the race’s history in the process, it’s fair to say that the debate over the relevance of that particular competition in the modern era isn’t a new one.

And with potential GC contenders getting younger and younger – don’t be shocked if Juan Ayuso inherits his UAE Team Emirates mate’s white jersey next year – there is a strong case for a rejigging of the Young Rider’s category (which is currently for whipper snappers under the age of 25) to better reflect the changing tides of grand tour racing and pro rider development.

Or, if you’re listening to Geraint Thomas and the Watts Occurring podcast, ASO should – instead of tweaking the white jersey – simply throw a bone to the old fogies and introduce a Masters-style category for GC men in their 30s…

It's official: we're starting a Watts Occurring campaign! It's time for a grey jersey at the #TdF2023

Who fancies designing one for us? 🎨 pic.twitter.com/O5U3EJFvAK

— Watts Occurring (@Watts_Occurring) July 11, 2023

‘And collecting the first ever grey jersey, and his prize zimmer frame, it’s Geraint Thomas!’

Well, a win’s a win, as G says himself…

If you’re even an occasional viewer of Sky Sports News, you’ll be aware that most footballers turn up for training in their flashy supercars or enormous, atrocious-looking SUVs.

But that wasn’t the case yesterday for Arsenal’s squad, who – I will grudgingly admit – rocked up to their German training camp at the Adidas HQ in Herzogenaurach in some style, for once…

Arriving in style 😎🚲😍 https://t.co/DZKmxg1Zuf

— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) July 11, 2023

After that brief spin to training, poor Dan may have to find some additional room on the bench for his star-studded Footballers Who Cycle XI…

Or maybe they’re all just trying out the club’s new cycle to work scheme?