Fundraiser for Ironman competitor whose cycling crash led to insurance nightmare; Nibali announces retirement date; Giro’s new head pisstaker; Tour Series crash; Eurovision does cycling; Bike ink; Giro Whoop data; New infra + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Fundraiser for Ironman competitor whose cycling crash led to insurance nightmare
A cautionary tale to double and triple check your insurance…
Daniel was racing in the Ironman 70.3 Mallorca on Saturday when he was involved in a “very nasty accident” which has left him in hospital, recovering from four hours of surgery to treat multiple injuries. He has no memory of what happened, just that he flipped over the handlebars.
The cost of the surgery is estimated to be roughly £15,000, which sympathetic donators are contributing to on GoFundMe after Daniel found out all three of his insurance providers will not be paying for the treatment…(Oh, not to mention he’s also getting married on June 4…)
Daniel has since discovered his Velosure bike insurance only covers loss of a limb or death, while his Admiral personal travel insurance won’t cover the costs either as they say he was racing. British Triathlon, which fundraiser starter Sam Tomkins said Daniel had the highest level of cover with, “don’t pay medical expenses. But have offered around £250 for his broken bones”.
“I know insurance companies are historically tough to get to pay out, but all three saying no makes my blood boil,” Sam said.
“I want to try and get some money together to help him pay for his medical costs. Please give whatever you can. If he does manage to reclaim the money, I will just get GoFundMe to return the money.”
Cycling tattoos
I love cycling but maybe not this much… #cyclingtattoo pic.twitter.com/jXZkkgTRXh
— Rory McCarron (@CyclingLawLDN) May 11, 2022
Anyone got any bike-related ink?
Like Tim, this is the closest we’ve got…
Surely this sort of thing is enough?
🤣 pic.twitter.com/zmtzj54O3V— Tim Burnett 💙🧡 (@TriTim) May 11, 2022
Perhaps someone somewhere has got the slightly obnoxiously named ‘4th cat tat’ permanently inked on their calf? Niche…
Images that precede unfortunate cycling events
This is 100% not what you want to see whilst on a bike ride! pic.twitter.com/4Eq62VeJzl
— Will Columbine (@willcolumbine) May 10, 2022
How hard is riding a Mount Etna summit finish for the pros? Giro d'Italia Whoop data
Whoop are sending us rider data from the Giro d’Italia, showing how hard the day’s racing was and how much recovery riders got (and need)…
Hugh Carthy was right up there in the GC group on yesterday’s summit finish up Etna, efficiently finishing in last place in the group containing Simon Yates, Richard Carapaz and basically anyone else with a hope of winning the maglia rosa…
He burned 3,379 calories, according to his strap, and had an average heart rate of 137bpm throughout the stage. That’s a lot of pasta to recover..
Interestingly, Whoop are also sharing his sleep data, and suggest he is 81 per cent recovered this morning having got a touch under seven hours of kip last night. That’s almost four hours less than Whoop estimates he needed…not helped by nine disturbances during the night…I wonder if Whoop can work out which EF Education EasyPost rider’s snoring was keeping him up?
Stefano Oldani spent the day in the break…
Ouch
Not having the best @TourSeries so far. Bad luck comes in 3s or something? pic.twitter.com/3HuVFcissJ
— AlecBriggs/ Pedaler (@Alec_Pedaler) May 10, 2022
Transport for London addresses series of serious injuries and fatality with new segregated cycle route
Transport for London has announced the completion of a new protected cycle lane on Mansell Street in Aldgate, London, an area which saw four serious injuries in collisions, and one fatality in the three years up to July 2020. The new route will link Cycleway 2 and Cycleway 3 to “enable thousands of safer cycling journeys across London each week”.
Elsewhere in the English capital, a consultation has also launched, looking into the first phase of upgrades to the CS8 route between Lambeth Bridge and Chelsea Bridge, changes that have been in place on the route since summer 2020.
“We’ve seen a huge rise in walking and cycling over the past two years as more and more Londoners enjoy using sustainable ways to get around the capital,” Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said. “To maintain this success, we are continuing to make our roads safer. I’m delighted that this new protected cycle route is now open, making a much-needed connection between two major Cycleways in east London.”
Eat your veggies and ride a bike: Eurovision does cycling
Disclaimer: new live blog favourite Ryan is fully to blame for Eurovision content appearing on your feed. I will take zero responsibility for any angry comments that follow, and would like to put it on record that I have never, and will never, watch it…
With the legal stuff out the way, we can move on to the meat (or lack of it) of the matter: Latvia apparently made a bit of a splash at *insert whatever the proper name for last night’s ‘event’ was* with some out-there lyrics about dietary advice.
“Instead of meat, I eat veggies and…”
Whole arena sang the line and Latvia still didn’t qualify??? #eurovision pic.twitter.com/mJ2kouZSdp
— Vi (@InVeiv) May 10, 2022
Their entry was censored by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) due to the problematic lyric…
Less problematic was the first verse: “I ride my bicycle to work instead of a car”.
Apparently, the Italians gave cycling a shout-out too. Their entry won the San Remo festival while riding BMXs (though Ryan informs me he’s not sure if they’re repeating that at Eurovision).
With great power comes great responsibility: Giro's new head pisstaker
The Giro has a new pisstaking king — all hail Juan Pedro López…
With great power comes great responsibility
Juan Pedro Lopez is getting used to his role as the new Maglia Rosa#Giro #Giro105 pic.twitter.com/5QmiKXqDMM
— GCN Racing (@GcnRacing) May 11, 2022
It’s one of the perks of leading a Grand Tour; you are bestowed the great honour of choosing when everybody takes a leak…in other words, chief pisstaker…
Just don’t ask Tom Dumoulin what happens if you need a number two…apparently even a maglia rosa doesn’t hold that power…
Funny how no matter how many races you win (Giro d’Italia, World Championship, three Tour de France stages, four Giro stages, Olympic silver etc…) everybody still remembers that time you had to drop one in a field…
Good news! We've got James May on road.cc very soon...
Here at road.cc we’ve got a dream list of interviewees, a pantheon of guests who we’d love to talk to more than anyone else. Think: Cav, Jeremy Vine, Sir Brad…the two-wheeled greats…
Well, we’ve ticked one off the list, and will be bringing you a special Drink at your desk Friday at the end of the week, featuring…*drum roll*… James May (admittedly the drum roll doesn’t work so well when you’ve already read who it is)…
This one will be dropping on our YouTube at 4pm on Friday, but we’ll be bringing you some sneak peeks on the site over the coming days to whet the appetite…
Team time trial to get Cav back in touch
The Wolfpack never gives up 👊#Giro pic.twitter.com/3cxB80x5IH
— Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (@qst_alphavinyl) May 11, 2022
A high pace on the one major climb of the day has seen Mark Cavendish, Caleb Ewan and Arnaud Démare dropped from the peloton. Démare is best-placed at 30 seconds, Cav at one minute 20 seconds. Ewan looks out of it at more than four minutes back. Cav’s got a few teammates back to help. Can he make it?
They're doing the thing again...
You have to be young and brave to earn the #Giro White Jersey. But any age works if you want to purchase the White Jersey NFT. Discover @ItaliaNFT_art‘s amazing digital art collection inspired by Giro d’Italia 22. pic.twitter.com/rX6ZoXz632
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 11, 2022
You know, it’s almost like yesterday didn’t happen…
Arnaud Démare wins stage five of the Giro d'Italia after Mark Cavendish and Caleb Ewan are dropped on earlier climb
Of the three big-name sprinters to be dropped over the second-category Portella Mandrazzi, only Arnaud Démare made it back on, following some sterling work from his Groupama–FDJ teammates who then set him up perfectly for the sprint. Coming off a downhill ramp, but into a headwind, it needed impeccable timing; something the Frenchman delivered…
#Giro |🚴♂️Stage 5⃣ 174 Km
🏠 Catania – Messina 🏁
Victoria de @ArnaudDemare gracias a un excelente trabajo de @GroupamaFDJ. Canvedish y Ewan quedaron descolgados en Portella Mandrazzi
🥇Arnaud Demare (GFC)
🥈Fernando Gaviria (UAD)
🥉Giacomo Nizzolo (IPT) pic.twitter.com/IT40mXS04l— Bauhauss (@JBauhauss) May 11, 2022
Second-placed Fernando Gaviria was left to slam his front wheel into the ground in frustration (over and over again), while Giacomo Nizzolo was third. Biniam Girmay could only take fifth, largely due to being boxed in, and followed Cavendish-deputising Davide Ballerini across the line.
An early finish today as the riders are off to the mainland tonight. Tomorrow skirts the coast, and should give the fast men another shot at glory.
Another classic for the weird bike rack genre...
And the award for the weirdest bike racks go to Burton Hospital pic.twitter.com/pycClRJ4pp
— GrowLaughLearn (@growlaughlearn) May 10, 2022
Vincenzo Nibali confirms intention to retire at the end of 2022
After stage five, and in his hometown of Messina, Vincenzo Nibali outlined his intention to retire from professional bike racing at the end of the season. Speaking to RAI, he said: “I was waiting for this stage for a while, for years, it’s where I started to ride and train, so I wanted to confirm that this is my last Giro and my last season.
The Shark of Messina was visibly emotional as he told the broadcaster: “It’s time to call it a day. I’ve done so much for so long but it’s the right time.”
Nibali will be looking for one final stage win at the Grand Tour he has won twice, in 2013 and 2016, and won seven stages over 11 participations. The 37-year-old is also, provisionally at least, in Astana’s Tour de France team.
Lesson of the day: check your insurance
Hope he gets well soon, but don’t really have much sympathy if he couldn’t be bothered to get the appropriate insurance to begin with, and then blames the insurance companies for not paying out.
— cycletothesea (@cycletothesea) May 11, 2022
Here’s some reaction to the main story (down at the bottom) of our live blog today…
TriTaxMan shared the travel insurance section of British Triathlon’s website:
If you have an existing policy it is worth checking the details as you may not have cover for your bike or for training or racing abroad.
“I do think it is pretty common that travel Insurance by and large always has an exclusion for any form of racing, and a lot will specifically exclude training as well,” they said. “As a triathlete who has taken part in triathlon training camps in Mallorca I was specifically told by the training camp to make sure my travel insurance included cover for triathlon training otherwise any hospital treatment may not be covered.
“Given this was an official Ironman 70.3 event I would have expected either the general entry fee to include some medical insurance cover or alternatively their entry pack would tell them that they needed specialist race insurance if they are racing overseas.
“Unfortunately there are too many people who don’t read the fine print, or don’t think to check before they do something (I mean the whole passport issues that have been in the press virtually every week for the last 3 months for example), and then when it goes wrong they go to the media. So my sympathy is limited to the injuries they suffered not the costs that they now have to stump up.
“That may seem harsh to some but life is harsh.”
Others shared advice from their years of dealing with insurance companies for events, holidays, racing and everyday riding.
“Insurance. Best to speak to a human, and detail all you want to get covered. Discuss openly and in full. Keep a recording or notes. Even the direct insurers, like Admiral, have “Live Chat” or similar,” Aberdeencyclist suggested.
HoarseMann said: “I have adequate insurance, but need to fundraise for a Mallorcan cycling holiday. Seriously though, you really do need to check the small print on insurance. I do have some sympathy, as generally road cycling is covered under standard premiums, but anything that involves racing or off-road mountain biking usually requires an enhanced level of cover at extra cost.”
Giro d'Italia stage five highlights
🎥 HIGHLIGHTS – Stage 5⃣ / Tappa 5⃣
💯A sprint that started with 100km to go. Here are the highlights of Stage 5⃣ of the Giro 2022
💯Una volata che è cominciata a 100 km dal traguardo.
Ecco gli highlights della Tappa 5⃣ del Giro 2022Powered by Intimissimi Uomo #Giro pic.twitter.com/B8Hx7ZzwWN
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 11, 2022
"Fucking shit bike. I can't say anything because I'll get told off": Fernando Gaviria fumes at his Colnago
Fernando Gaviria – Giro d’Italia 2022 Stage 5 pic.twitter.com/clu8XgE5QD
— Doms (Pink Era) (@doomsiana) May 11, 2022
Taking a leaf out of our book here, Fernando? We always blame our bike when things go wrong too…to be fair it did appear the Colombian sprinter was left high and dry by his UAE Team Emirates team-issue Colnago, which seemed to be stuck in far too easy a gear for the downhill sprint.
Cyclingnews reports the sprinter was caught on camera calling his poor Colnago a “fucking shit bike” before saying “I can’t say anything because I’ll get told off”.
“It’s something I can’t say in the interview. I felt really good today and I was looked after so well for the whole stage. I had problems with my derailleur in the end and I couldn’t get in the gear I needed. It was a hectic final and I think someones wheel may have touched me from behind. It’s really frustrating and I could not hide it on the line but these are things that can happen in races.”
If the Tour de France champ’s bike is “fucking shit”, I’d hate to hear what he thinks of mine…
11 May 2022, 08:08
11 May 2022, 08:08
11 May 2022, 08:08
11 May 2022, 08:08
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Latest Comments
@Rendel Harris I get close-passed by more riders than cars in Richmond Park. Maybe I should ride faster.
@perce I'm normally a big fan of your excellent posts perce but I must take issue with this one. The idea that Lord Khan of Tooting would ever, in any circumstances, have been friends with Nigel is surely beyond the bounds of even your fertile imagination?
Not to downplay the seriousness of bikejacking, but Mr.Taylor might want to consider that fact that many riders have been put off using the park at weekends due to the aggressive, intimidatory behaviour of members of his own club, who are notorious for riding as if the park is a private training facility just for themselves, and that's a pretty sad state of affairs as well.
In Wiggle/CR's absence, what are people using nowadays? I've been out of it for a while, but now returned.
I did a multi-day ride many years ago with someone who was a better cyclist than me by every conceivable measure but this one. I remember watching them up ahead on a quiet road trying to teach themselves - snatching brief seconds with their hands off the bars before losing balance and grabbing on again. 'Watch this' I said to the rest of my group, before I accelerated to catch them, then nonchalantly sailed past them uphill riding no hands. Very satisfying. I've been able to ride most of mine hands-free, but had a Specialized Allez that really didn't cooperate. Haven't been brave enough to try it on a Brompton or cargo bike though. And still can't do a wheelie, or any of the other things on Jo's palmares.
@Hamster now that is an exciting development. I do remove/amend signs but reporting them for flyposting is much more satisfying.
@Slartibartfast If the sign-maker can be caught in the act then the council Environmental Health can get a report for littering/fly-tipping. Hours of endless fun for that person trying to explain away a conviction. Don't report unless you're prepared to go to court though. Or remove the litter and put in the nearest bin with a sticker explaining how littering is a crime.
What would make driving safer for motorists is if they stopped driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and driving faster than the speed limit.
Some good ideas there. One point tho. Whilst I love those Wera Allen keys for steel bolt heads, they can be risky on alloy socket screws. Not ideal, IMO, for Rochshox fork axles as they eat into the alloy and lock into the socket. Play soon results. The hex+ system seems to be based on an inside out adaptation of the Snap On “Flank Drive” spanner or socket - and that’s a great idea, but sadly the design seems to overstress alloy socket head screws. Could it be that the profiled section on the end of the tool doesn’t have enough penetration on a fork axle? Maybe. All I can say is my axles last a lot longer using a regular Allen hex key. (Ideally on a torque wrench I guess). Ooh and ChrisA is right - a “Vernier Caliper” relies an a sliding scale more like a slide tile. Digital is way easier, but battery dependent.
@Rendel Harris - ginger ale can be alcoholic when it's traditionally brewed. Not nearly as strong as mead, though.
23 thoughts on “Fundraiser for Ironman competitor whose cycling crash led to insurance nightmare; Nibali announces retirement date; Giro’s new head pisstaker; Tour Series crash; Eurovision does cycling; Bike ink; Giro Whoop data; New infra + more on the live blog”
I don’t mean to sound cold,
I don’t mean to sound cold, but shouldn’t Dan have checked he had appropriate cover first? why should other people pay for his ignorance? People will hand-over cash for anything these days …except appropriate insurance it seems.
alexuk wrote:
I’m guessing that he had ordinary medical cover, but that doesn’t usually cover sports events. You don’t have to chip in if you don’t want to (I won’t be either).
I was there. On Friday, there
I was there. On Friday, there were a lot of riders out on disc wheels. And there were a lot of full-on tri bikes (plus some road bikes with aero bars bolted on). I have no idea about how Dan’s accident happened (so this is more a general comment) but climbing the Femenia to 580 metres (although at least the road is smooth, wide and sweeping) and descending Sa Batalla with its large number of tight hairpins didn’t seem like a good match to me.
I hope Dan heals fast and is back out riding and tri-ing again soon.
I have adequate insurance,
I have adequate insurance, but need to fundraise for a Mallorcan cycling holiday.
Seriously though, you really do need to check the small print on insurance. I do have some sympathy, as generally road cycling is covered under standard premiums, but anything that involves racing or off-road mountain biking usually requires an enhanced level of cover at extra cost.
Have to agree. And if he’d
Have to agree. And if he’d had a GHIC card or one or the old EHIC cards that would possibly have covered most of the cost. A GHIC card is free to apply for.
This is what I don’t
This is what I don’t understand here – why go to Europe without one? He would be entitled to the same healthcare as a Spanish citizen which would mean essentialy free care in a public hospital. Ok you need travel insurance to cover repatriation etc, but seriously everyone get a GHIC now!
https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad/apply-for-a-free-uk-global-health-insurance-card-ghic/
I didn’t know the EHIC card
I didn’t know the EHIC card had been replaced, I thought it was just extinct with the Brexit thing. Many thanks for posting that, new GHIC is now in the post!
bobbinogs wrote:
The EHIC cards currently in circulation are valid until they expire. After this point you need a GHIC.
As a slight aside. Many people don’t seem to understand that it confers reciprocal rights and not NHS equivalent in a foreign country. If the natives pay, you still have to pay, even if it would have been free on the NHS and therefore free to say a Spaniard in the UK.
DrG82 wrote:
Three years ago I was in France and I hit a big stone on a descent. Ambulance job, overnight, full works. I had local nurses come every day to change my dressings and check on my welfare. I showed the hospital my EHIC card and they accepted it without a problem.Can’t remember exactly what it cost, about 2000 euros, I think. I paid a percentage of that to the hospital and some to the nurses. When I got back to the UK I was able to claim back everything I had spent from the DHSS (I think it was them). Very efficient.
Insurance . Best to speak to
Insurance . Best to speak to a human, and detail all you want to get covered . Discuss openly and in full . Keep a recording or notes . Even the Direct Insurers like Admiral have “Live Chat” or similar . Just arranging it yourself has many potential pitfalls . Directly arranged insurance ( by the policyholder) has an above average rate of dissatisfied claimants
Good point, definitely worth
Good point, definitely worth checking small print.
Laka insurance cover extends to sportives and triathlons, the exception is professional events, i.e.are you being paid to appear?
I recall some 20 years ago, a
I recall some 20 years ago, a couple had moved unto a canal boat to live in their retirement. It got burnt out. They bemoaned that they now had nowhere to live because the insurance was too expensive.
While I have sympathy for the
While I have sympathy for the Triathlete and their injuries, I do think it is pretty common that Travel Insurance by and large always has an exclusion for any form of racing, and a lot will specifically exclude training as well. The advice on British Triathlon website is quite clear :-
Travel Insurance
If you have an existing policy it is worth checking the details as you may not have cover for your bike or for training or racing abroad.
If this is not included in your existing policy you will need to arrange a single trip or annual policy that is specifically designed for triathlon and other multisport activity. You may need to specify the race distance as it could affect the policy and your ability to make a successful claim.
If you are taking part in an event, you can also check with the organiser to see whether they have a specific policy that will cover you for the event.
As a triathlete who has taken part in triathlon training camps in Mallorca I was specifically told by the training camp to make sure my travel insurance included cover for triathlon training otherwise any hospital treatment may not be covered.
Given this was an official Ironman 70.3 event I would have expected either the general entry fee to include some medical insurance cover or alternatively their entry pack would tell them that they needed specialist race insurance if they are racing overseas.
Unfortunately there are too many people who don’t read the fine print, or don’t think to check before they do something (I mean the whole passport issues that have been in the press virtually every week for the last 3 months for example), and then when it goes wrong they go to the media. So my sympathy is limited to the injuries they suffered not the costs that they now have to stump up.
That may seem harsh to some but life is harsh
With slightly less toilet
With slightly less toilet humour https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/anger-disgust-cyclist-caught-urinating-23918237
If only we had some sort of
If only we had some sort of reciprocal healthcare card that allowed access to free medical care in the majority of Europe.
we do its called GHIC, but
we do its called GHIC, but neither a GHIC or EHIC supplant the need for travel insurance because they neither cover all types of medical costs you may encounter
Genuinely looking forward to
Genuinely looking forward to the James May video drop on Friday, huge respect for the guy.
I just want his garage….
I just want his garage….
True that!
True that!
I’m a big fan of James May,
I’m a big fan of James May, and I remember watching the bike assembly video (from which the still is taken from above) back in 2020 where he unpacks his friend’s BSO. Unfortunately he was so busy concentrating on staying in character (slow, methodical, technical) and torquing up the front wheel brake rotor, he installed it back to front.
Come on James, let’s do better please.
RE: Another classic for the
RE: Another classic for the weird bike rack genre…
Is it just me or does this look like it could be a trap from Lemmings?
Do the bikes fly away in high
Do the bikes fly away in high winds ?
Probably the top folds down
Probably the top folds down then and you can’t get them out.
The bottom part looks like one of those city centre movable urinals. Maybe it is? Or maybe it’s triggering me for some other reason.