“More farce than grand tour”? Cycling fans call for Vuelta a España to be cancelled after crucial time trial cut in half over safety concerns amid Palestine protests; Cycling miles jump by 32% during London Tube strikes + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Stranded by Tube strikes?
Avoid the disruption of the Tube strikes with our guide to London’s cycleways:
> Stranded by Tube strikes? Try one of these London cycling routes instead
Edinburgh council approves Tour de France funding
Edinburgh council has approved £1.7 million in funding to cover the start of the men’s Tour De France 2027.
This money will come from the city’s visitor levy, which is Edinburgh’s tourist tax. The Scottish government have agreed to cover any budget overruns.
Dean Atkins/SWpix.com
Margaret Arma Graham, City of Edinburgh council’s culture and communities committee convener, said: “I’m very glad that there’s going to be such an emphasis on a sporting event in the city, sometimes these are not always a high priority. Cycling in general will get a boost from something so famous coming here.”
The councillors have been told there could be community benefits coming from this deal. These may include free bikes for children and cycling lessons for young people.
In the third UK start in 20 years, the Grand Depart will begin in the centre of Edinburgh before going through England and into Wales.
Sean Flynn, from Team Picnic-Post NL, is from Edinburgh. He said: “Having the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in Edinburgh is a dream come true for me and all Scottish cycling fans.
“I can’t wait to see Edinburgh showcase itself to the whole cycling world and beyond. The tough Scottish terrain will definitely provide a spectacle and create tougher racing than people expect, which will be amazing.”
Cycling miles in London jump by 32% during Tube strikes, new figures suggest
Cycling miles have jumped by almost a third this week, according to new figures from employee benefits provider YuLife.
The miles travelled by these commuters, dubbed ‘Strikelists’ by tabloids, have jumped from 3,787 to 5,120 miles this week.
[Credit: Joshua Garfield]
Sammy Rubin, the chief executive of YuLife, said: “When strikes disrupt our routines, we’re reminded just how much control we do, or don’t have over our daily lives.
“What’s encouraging is that so many people are turning to movement as a way to cope. A 32% rise in cycling shows how willing Londoners are to take wellbeing into their own hands when given the nudge.”
> Stranded by Tube strikes? Try one of these London cycling routes instead
We will see if these figures continue to rise, as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) have planned walkouts in a dispute over pay and hours until Friday.
Council leader says Dundee's £245m active travel developments are "necessary to connect communities"
Council leader Mark Flynn supports the plans for the developments of six active travel freeways in Dundee.
The local authority plans to work with external partners to encourage people to walk, wheel and cycle on segregated active travel routes.
These include Arbroath Road, Pitkerro Road, Macalpine Road, Perth Road and Lochee Road.
[Credit: Dundee City Council]
“We are quite ambitious in what we try to do, and our plan is to get more people cycling and to deliver the necessary schemes and infrastructure to support that,” said Mark Flynn at the national Cycling Scotland conference held in Dundee on Wednesday.
“We’ve been doing a lot of work over recent years to invest what we can do across the city to connect outer areas the city centre.
“An important way of getting people cycling in the city is to install active travel freeways. They’re necessary to connect communities and key destinations.”
This is part of a wider, decade-long sustainable transport delivery plan unveiled by Dundee City Council last year.
These projects are expected to be funded from the Transport Scotland Active Travel Transformation Fund.
Some of the plans include the Lochee Road active freeway, which is expected to cost £24 million and take 4-6 years to complete.
The Arbroath Road project is also expected to take 4-6 years, and will cost approximately £20 million.
Meanwhile, the Perth Road and Pitkerro Road are not expected to be completed for another 7-10 years.
Tadej Pogačar admits riders are “a little scared of what could happen” during pro-Palestine protests at races
The world champion has described demonstrations that have left the Vuelta a España teetering on the edge of collapse as a “new problem” for the peloton.
> “We ride at full speed, we give it our all. This is a new problem”: Tadej Pogačar admits riders are “a little scared of what could happen” during pro-Palestine protests at races
Are painted cycle lanes better than cyclist priority markers?
Here on the live blog, painted lines on the sides of busy roads, also known as painted cycle lanes, are often criticised as oblivious drivers cross them anyway (paint is not protection and all that).
However, as Oxford-based Gordon pointed out on BlueSky, the non-protected alternative – 20mph streets designed to give cyclists priority (thanks to massive bikes painted on the road) – can be even worse when it comes to encouraging close passes:
Counterpoint to this: Abingdon road (particularly southbound) is objectively worse since the painted cycle lane was removed and the 20mph speed limit with “cycle priority” markers. Vehicles now don’t give *any* space to cyclists.
— Gordon Buxton (@mrlumpybadger.bsky.social) 10 September 2025 at 11:25
Which do you think works better? Or are both examples proof that paint, in any form, cannot pass for proper cycling infrastructure?
Over half a million young people in Scotland have completed cycle training since 2011, new Bikeability figures reveal
More than 53,000 pupils took part in Bikeability Scotland cycle training during the 2024 – 25 academic year.
This brings the total number of young people in Scotland completing cycle training to over 500,000 since it started in schools in 2011.
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[Credit: Britishcycling.org.uk]
Issy, a P6 pupil who has completed this training, said: “It made me feel more confident on my bike and more confident on the roads. Everywhere that I go with my bike, I know what to do and where to go.
“It definitely boosts my confidence, being able to be trusted to go by myself with my friend.”
Fourteen local authorities delivered Level 2, on-road cycle training during the 2024-25 academic year.
In Dumfries and Galloway, Midlothian, Moray, and Perth and Kinross councils, it was the first year they delivered on-road training in every primary school.
“It’s brilliant to reach more than half a million young people trained. That’s over 2 million hours of children cycling and getting the benefits of being active, increased road safety awareness and learning a skill for life,” said David Collins, Bikeability Scotland manager.
“Together with building a network of safe, dedicated cycle lanes and tackling dangerous driving, Bikeability Scotland training is essential to support children to cycle.”
Free for pupils, Bikeability Scotland helps to increase road safety awareness in young people, giving them the confidence and skills to travel safely by bike.
It is funded and organised by Cycling Scotland, in a long-term partnership with local authorities, through grant funding from Transport Scotland.
Fife council has approved active travel plans, after almost half of surveyed residents feel unsafe on the roads
In another Scottish update to today’s live blog, Fife Council have approved active travel plans which guide investment in high-quality routes, safer connections and practical initiatives to encourage cycling.
One of the key targets is to increase the number of people who feel safe cycling, wheeling or walking around Fife by 20% in 2033.
[Credit: Fife council]
An online survey of 242 residents, as part of this strategy, revealed that 10% of respondents feel very safe in relation to road safety.
The same survey revealed that 48% of respondents feel very unsafe or somewhat unsafe in relation to road safety.
They also hope to grow the number of active travel trips (walking cycling or wheeling) from 23% in 2019 to 30% by 2033.
Councillor Altany Craik, Spokesperson for Finance, Economy & Strategic Planning, said: “Our ambitious Active Travel Strategy will deliver improvements that benefit everyone – from better air quality and healthier lifestyles to safer and cheaper ways of getting to work, school or the shops.
“Walking, wheeling and cycling should be the natural choice for short journeys in Fife. Rebalancing the shift away from cars is vital to tackle climate change.
“To make this happen, people need safe, traffic-free routes where they can travel with confidence. This strategy lays out how we will deliver that.”
Is a third Ineos buzz cut on the cards? Filippo Ganna storms into Vuelta time trial lead with blistering 56kph effort
With Michał Kwiatkowski and Brandon Rivera currently sporting severe skinhead looks thanks to Ben Turner and Egan Bernal’s Vuelta stage wins (and a questionable pre-race bet), a third Ineos buzz cut could be on the cards this evening, thanks to a certain Italian powerhouse:
Yes, that’s right. Filippo Ganna, perhaps desperate to keep his own curly locks intact, has set the fastest time so far in Valladolid, covering the shortened 12.2km course in 13 minutes dead, at a blistering 56.2kph, 10 seconds clear of his closest rival Ivo Oliveira.
However, I wouldn’t be plugging the clippers in just yet. Jay Vine is currently out on the course – and he’s flying.
Good job UAE don’t have haircut bets, eh?
Keep the clippers warmed up! Jay Vine misses out on Vuelta top spot by less than a second – after near miss with Finlay Pickering
The Ineos hotel could still resemble a barber’s tonight, after UAE Team Emirates’ Jay Vine – who was storming around Valladolid – missed out on overhauling Filippo Ganna by just nine tenths of a second.
Proof, if we needed it, of just how fast the big Italian was going during that final two kilometres.
Of course, those missing nine tenths of a second may well have resulted from this close call for Vine, who managed to narrowly avoid Finlay Pickering as the Brit veered across the road just as the Australian attempted to motor by:
Win number 84 of the season probably won’t be happening for UAE now – unless Almeida pulls something out of the bag, of course…
Vuelta TT: Ganna storms to third Ineos stage win, Almeida’s glimmer of hope remains after chipping away time from Vingegaard, and Pidcock has podium within grasp after “best ever time trial”
Just as we expected, today’s condensed time trial in Valladolid – a concession by the Vuelta organisers in a desperate bid to keep the show on the road – resulted in… precious little change in the general classification battle.
Instead, we were left with the hollow sense of what might have been, after João Almeida chipped ten seconds off Jonas Vingegaard’s red jersey lead, finishing third on the day and reducing the Dane’s GC advantage to just 40 seconds.
Unipublic/SprintCyclingAgency
However, with just one big mountain stage left at this year’s Vuelta, Almeida will no doubt be left to rue those missing 15 kilometres – and the potentially career-changing opportunities they may have afforded him. In the end, Vingegaard’s solid ninth place keeps him firmly in red with Bola del Mundo looming large on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in the other big GC battle – the one for that third spot on the podium – ended in a strikingly similar stalemate, as Tom Pidcock put in what he described after the stage as his “best ever time trial” to finish 22nd, beating Jai Hindley by three seconds and one solitary place.
Pidcock even told reporters at the line that he hadn’t paid much attention to the controversy surrounding the decision to cut today’s time trial in two – a penchant for obliviousness that appears to be paying off, the Brit now 39 seconds ahead of Hindley.
Is that breakthrough podium spot now in the bag?
Unipublic/SprintCyclingAgency
What will be in a bag tonight, however, are the luscious locks of one unlucky Ineos rider, as Filippo Ganna made it a hattrick of Vuelta stage wins for the British outfit, after a staggeringly fast ride (which only Jay Vine ever really threatened) and a long, long day in the hotseat.
A stage for the housewives, shall we say, if not the GC battle.
The first Cobble Wobble in 13 years has been postponed due to strong winds
Arguably the most famous hillclimb sprint up a cobbled hill there ever was, the beleaguered Cobble Wobble has been cancelled once more due to Met Office forecasts of wind gusts that are set to reach more than 47 mph.
After a long 13-year hiatus, the Frome-based event was supposed to take place on Sunday 14 September… but the weather had other ideas.
Before this, the 179-yard sprint up the cobbled Catherine Hill in the centre of the quirky Somerset town was put on ice due to difficulties securing sponsorships. The people behind it are still determined for the event to go ahead this year, however.
“We’ll still be able to deliver the Cobble Wobble with all the spectacle, joy and eccentricity that makes it so special – simply at a safer time,” said organiser Andrew Denham.
The winners of each category would have qualified for the evening finale to crown the King and Queen of the Cobbles.
Every entrant has been refunded in full, and Denham has guaranteed that “the event will absolutely go ahead on another date.”
Sorry potential Cobble Wobblers… the wait goes on!
Hold on, what?
> Motorbike rider with ‘FOK ULEZ’ sticker punched naked cyclist in head before assaulting police officers
“More farce than grand tour”? Cycling fans call for Vuelta a España to be cancelled after crucial time trial cut in half over safety concerns amid Palestine protests
The Vuelta just can’t catch a break, can it?
It’s been a disastrous few weeks on the road for the Spanish grand tour, as a series of pro-Palestine protests, targeting Israel-Premier Tech’s ongoing involvement in cycling, have left the race in chaos and teetering on the edge of collapse.
During stage five’s team time trial, the Vuelta’s first day back in Spain after starting in Italy, protesters stood on the road as the Israel-Premier Tech squad approached, forcing several riders to stop.
In Bilbao, a rowdy demonstration at the finish line of stage 11 forced the organisers to stop the race with 3km to go, with no winner awarded, while similarly chaotic scenes on stage 16’s final climb in Galicia led to another abrupt early ending (though this time, at least, Egan Bernal was able to claim the victory).
Following this series of protests, the riders held a vote yesterday morning, telling the organisers they will stop racing – and potentially quit the Vuelta altogether – if the demonstrations continue to disrupt the racing and potentially impact their safety.
[Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
And last night, piling on the misery for an event mired in controversy, the Vuelta’s organisers announced that this afternoon’s potentially race-deciding time trial in Valladolid will be shortened considerably, due to safety concerns about expected protests in the city.
According to a report in L’Équipe, additional security measures were already being put in place for the time trial – where red jersey Jonas Vingegaard will be aiming to defend his 50-second lead over João Almeida – with 300 uniformed and plain clothes police officers, and 150 security guards, set to be deployed.
However, that extra security still doesn’t seem to be enough to ensure the TT goes ahead safely. Last night, the Vuelta confirmed that today’s race against the clock will be cut to just 12.2km – a full 15km shorter than the originally scheduled 27.2km route.
“With the aim of ensuring greater protection for the stage, the organisers of La Vuelta, in coordination with Valladolid City Council and following consultation with the College of Commissaires, have decided that tomorrow’s time trial will be contested over a 12.2-kilometre route with the start and finish remaining as originally planned,” the organisers said in a statement.
And, with today’s time trial in Valladolid expected to play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the red jersey, it’s fair to say fans aren’t happy with the latest disruption to a Vuelta that descended into chaos, and became little to do with actual bike racing, long ago.
“Just cancel the race. Without the mountain finishes or a real TT, this is no longer a grand tour,” said Peter Lewin on social media.
“Please, finish this race,” agreed Arthur. “It is the worst grand tour of all time, courtesy of the UCI and their failure to [make] IPT to leave the race.”
Meanwhile, Jens was one of many to point out that the shorter 12km distance will skew the GC battle, writing: “So now it has absolutely no influence on the GC. La Vuelta is kind of done.”
“It’s not even a club 10 – it’s a farce in a grand tour,” said RM, while Tom Michalak added: “I’m over watching a race with no actual finishes.”
And one disgruntled Spanish fan said: “What a mess of a Vuelta… what an image for the world. Light years away from the Tour and Giro.”
“Whether you agree with IPT’s continued participation or not, it’s clear this Vuelta is more farce than Grand Tour,” added cycling writer Peter Cossins.
And GCN presenter Dan Lloyd said: “I really feel for the Vuelta organisation. At this point, I’ve lost almost all interest in the race, and I’m sure many others feel the same, but it’s not their fault at all.”
But hey, look on the bright side – at least Tom Pidcock has an even better chance of holding on to his podium spot now. Right?
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@Mmitb Pedestrians already have their own segregated infrastructure to use, they're called pavements. And if you try and take even a couple of feet away from them to put in a cycle lane, listen for the complaints.
@stulemanski Or to put it in less pejorative terms rather than trying to make active travel activists sound like spoiled children, they are upset about the fact that a golden opportunity to introduce more than a kilometre of completely off-road cycle track through the heart of London has been missed, an opportunity that could easily have been taken up on a 25 m wide highway. It may be "really easy to avoid with minimal inconvenience" for you, and it is for me to be fair, but cycle infrastructure isn't primarily designed for fast, experienced and confident cyclists but to encourage those with less confidence and experience to take up cycling; a cycle lane down Oxford Street would have served this cohort very well. So the objections, whether you agree with them or not, are well-founded, not mere petulance because "pedestrians have been given something and they've not".
All the side streets where I live are blocked by cars parked on either side of the road so that they are too narrow to cycle in if there is a car or van coming the other way. It makes it really difficult and dangerous to cycle on my local roads. I used to cycle to the shops but now I walk because I could no longer face the regular unyielding motorists when I was already in sections too narrow for them to enter. How is this any different to Lime bikes blocking street corners?
@Sniffer well apparently he's a keen motorcyclist, so perhaps he's projecting...
Surprised this review didn't mention the Magicshine EVO 1300. It was reviewed very favourably on this site a while back and is much the same concept. I have been using it on my commuter for the last year or so.
@chrisonabike I heard this too. Very disappointed in Evan Davis ill informed comments, but I thought Alexander responded appropriately, explaining the law. Considering how many politicians spout falsehoods in this area, at least she clearly understood the rules.
Yes, @jonhall it's really easy to avoid Ox St and use the roads running either side. In fact, as a cyclist myself, pre and post pedestrianisation, it's more pleasant to use the roads running either side - who wants to try and meander through thousands of pedestrians? So, I can't help feeling this is a bit of a fuss over nothing.
Ah - "pm" on radio 4 on the Beeb coming with "ebikes can often go at 30 or 35mph"... Even Heidi Alexander (not always the most vocal supporter, though she really is a rider herself) was pushing back on that, a bit... Alas not enough on the "get the suppliers in order" eg. the shared dockless bike companies, sales etc.
Probably the coolest thing about this lamp is that it can be sandwiched between the mount and a Garmin, which means it uses net zero mounts. How cool it would be if lamps like Magicshine Hori did the same and provided a Garmin mount at the bottom for another piece of kit! BTW I wouldn't judge it too harshly about its battery life. I take this lamp primarily as a compact DRL, which uses flash mode and offers decent battery life. The way I see it, the full mode is for emergency limp home only.
Nothing necessarily wrong with enforcing against people cycling under the influence, but it's the performative song and dance about it and the implication that new rules and punishments are needed because 'they can get away with anything at the moment' - when actually the powers already exist and they could just quietly get on with using them if they wanted to.
31 thoughts on ““More farce than grand tour”? Cycling fans call for Vuelta a España to be cancelled after crucial time trial cut in half over safety concerns amid Palestine protests; Cycling miles jump by 32% during London Tube strikes + more on the live blog”
Quote:
Presumably Arthur is unfamiliar with the history of the grand tours, particularly some of the… interesting editions of the Vuelta from the mid 20th century.
I can heartily recommend Tim
I can heartily recommend Tim Moore’s “Vuelta Skelter” as an astonishing read about those mid-century Vueltas.
It’s very good. He also
It’s very good. He also doesn’t dodge writing about what went on during and after the Spanish Civil war, some of which goes a way towards explaining why some communities in Spain might feel empathetic towards people who have found themselves on the wrong end of an argument with someone with a lot of military might they’re not afraid to use and an unshakeable belief that the end always justifies the means.
I read it again about a
I read it again about a fortnight after the first read, I had been expecting his usual (excellent) tales of jolly incompetence as in French Revoutions and Gironimo but he clearly was deeply affected by the tragic history and had researched it very well, there was a depth of knowledge and explication that easily matched books by more professional, academic historians.
I believe that, for similar
I believe that, for similar reasons, the Irish , as both a people and a state, have more sympathy for independence movements.
When it comes to all the new
When it comes to all the new/additional people cycling in London due to the tube driver strikes…
1) It shows that there are a lot more people who COULD cycle than many people/nay-sayers think or argue about.
“Not everyone can cycle…”
(Yes, we know not EVERYONE can cycle. But a lot more COULD, than currently DO.)
2) Due to the queues/volumes seen, will it actually put some new people off continuing (after the strikes end) until better infrastructure/capacity is added?
and
“Tube strike enters fifth day as bike use soars“
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cevzedxy37mo
“E-bike injuries are a massive burden, say surgeons“
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2ejgrw9yepo
Do they also complain about the burden caused by sedentary lifestyles?
mitsky wrote:
I’d say they do but it doesn’t get amplified by the right-wing press (and the BBC is weirdly rightwing on cycling…)
Probably unlikely to have
Probably unlikely to have been on an EAPC but nonetheless, what a horrific end at the hands of a bunch of evil b@st@rds
https://www.cps.gov.uk/south-east/news/two-men-guilty-murdering-e-bike-riders
Flâneur wrote:
horrific indeed. One very slight positive from all of this is that it shows that the police and CPS can, in some instances, be prepared to see a vehicle as a lethal weapon. Hopefully next time someone deliberately drives into someone vulnerable, it is treated as an act of violence not of bad driving.
Usual garbled wording from
Usual garbled wording from the beeb about e-bikes in this clickbait. Could be e-motorbikes, but impossible to tell.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2ejgrw9yepo
I just saw that and thought
I just saw that and thought the same.
A hire bike such as dott, lime, Santander can be heavy but what about the rider ?
I’m pretty heavy, so if I collided with someone then my mass is more relevant than the bike’s.
Or are they talking about a bike falling on someone where they are trapped by the frame or crank? In which case injuries are going to be worse with a 25kg bike v 10 kg.
Previous article I have read
Previous article I have read relate to leg injuries due to the weight of the bike falling. Some horrendous stories.
Wasn’t that where the rider
Wasn’t that where the rider crashed and got tangled up in the heavy frame whereas this story linked is about crashing into someone else.
Hirsute wrote:
But Nick the surgeon says:
“What we’ve noticed with e-bikes is that the speed in which people are coming off is much higher and as a result, the injuries are much worse.”
How so? 15.5mph on an exclusively leg powered bike is easily done and if a legal e-bike rider goes faster then it’s to do with their leg power exclusively and nothing to do with the e-bike itself. If they modify the engine to propel the e-bike much faster, then that’s already illegal, so what’s the point of regulating it further? It’s already regulated enough, just needs being enforced. They will be ignoring the new regs just as easily as they are ignoring the ones already in place.
Where does the 3787 average
Where does the 3787 average daily miles for London commuters come from? There are an average 1.3 million cycle journeys made in London every day so unless everyone’s going about two yards a modicum of fact checking might be required…
Well I couldn’t find anything
Well I couldn’t find anything that looked like it might have been mangled into that stat, but Google thinks it might be one person doing it all.
Ah – I think I see what’s
Ah – I think I see what’s going on here:
So presumably these are the miles logged through their platform – which means they won’t necessarily be representative of what’s happening more generally.
How come the UCI were quite
How come the UCI were quite happy to require Russian riders to ride under neutral flags, but not IPT?
None of the IPT team at the
None of the IPT team at the vuelta are Israeli?
Neutral flags don’t make them
Neutral flags don’t make them less Russians, do they?
This doesn’t make Russians
This doesn’t make Russians riders less Russian, does it?
IPT aren’t riding under a
IPT aren’t riding under a flag, they’re not a state enterprise, just owned by some guy.
‘Some guy’ who endorses
‘Some guy’ who endorses genocide by the way. And they are based in Israel – a country which is committing a genocide and an illegal occupation and apartheid. So the protests are understandable – and happened against S Africa (which was a moderate regime compared to Israel) and I doubt anyone would advocate going back to apartheid in S Africa because protestors ruined cricket matches by occupying the playing field etc.
Rome73 wrote:
There are a few state sponsored teams on the Vuelta also committing genocide. Do they get a free pass until you finish protesting against IPT?
Clearly you’ve got them well
Clearly you’ve got them well covered
“Microsoft Paint is not
“Microsoft Paint is not infrastructure”?
Painting the roads makes
Painting the roads makes cycling infrastructure.
It’s still 99.9% better than
It’s still 99.9% better than what most of the UK has to deal with.
I only saw the article re the
I only saw the article re the shortened distance after tuning into the last 45 mins of the ITT today. Looked like a race to me even though I had no awareness of the shortened distance.
TdF was over end of week 1. There were some great individual stages and entertainment like Ben Healy. With two competitive stages to go, this tour is much closer for 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th places. Saturday should be an absolute nail bitter for GC. So which race was more of a race for GC?
I watched the highlights of
I watched the highlights of yesterday’s TT and thought it was pretty exciting. Although shortened, the stage had a good combination of technical and power sections. A very close win for Ganna, using his superior speed and power over his favoured terrain to claw back time over the last 5-6 k. Terrific effort by Vine and a good battle by Pidcock to consolidate 3rd. And finally a solid performance by Vingegaard.
Personally, I would like to see more flat time trialling in Grand Tours. It adds to the variety.
Let’s hope Pidcock can hang onto his podium spot.
Quote:
That’s pretty patronising on several levels, isn’t it?