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Cycling in the snow: Are you on your bike today?; Cycling Mikey rides Jeremy Vine’s penny-farthing; Rogue rags and lots of mud at the Dublin cyclocross World Cup; Bike Park plans dismissed as “puff and nonsense”; Remco’s new kit + more on the live blog

It’s Monday, snow has been fallin’, and Ryan Mallon – having finally thawed out after a weekend at the ‘cross – is back with the first live blog of the week
Mon, Dec 12, 2022 09:38
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SUMMARY

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Cycling in the snow: Are you on your bike today?; Cycling Mikey rides Jeremy Vine’s penny-farthing; Rogue rags and lots of mud at the Dublin cyclocross World Cup; Bike Park plans dismissed as “puff and nonsense”; Remco’s new kit + more on the live blogCycling in the snow (credit - Carla Francome)
12 December 2022, 17:10
One sentence to make every cyclist in the UK jealous

Lots of weather discussion in the comments section today – we’re an interesting bunch – though I’m sure not too many of your readers will be replicating Dave McCraw’s slippers and studded tyres approach to the snow:

Meanwhile, one road.cc reader, KDee, decided to make the rest of us jealous with one simple sentence:

No snow in my part of the Netherlands this morning. -2 deg C when I left to cycle to the office. Had to wait a moment at one junction for the bike lane gritter to go through!

Oh, how the other half (in this case, the Dutch) live…

12 December 2022, 16:42
You know it’s training camp season when…
12 December 2022, 15:55
Tom Pidcock, Dublin UCI Cyclocross World Cup 2022 (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)
“I don’t know… Probably not”: Tom Pidcock’s cyclocross worlds defence uncertain

Cyclocross world champion Tom Pidcock has once again cast doubt on whether he will defend his rainbow jersey in February, as the Ineos Grenadiers rider prepares to challenge for the spring classics on the road.

The 23-year-old – whose knowledge of how VAR works during football matches has been considerably improved by watching England crash out of the World Cup alongside a certain road.cc reporter (cough, cough) – finished third behind Wout van Aert and Laurens Sweeck at yesterday’s Dublin round of the cyclocross World Cup.

After piling on the pressure as Wout van Aert suffered a series of mishaps in the opening laps of the muddy course, Pidcock faded during the penultimate lap when his Belgian rival pressed on, but rallied impressively to secure the final podium spot.

“It was strange It was weird because there were a load of guys in the group, so it almost rode like a fast course even though it was really muddy,” he said at the finish.

“I couldn’t really push on, it was strange. It was one kind of one pace, but I had to get on the podium today – I would have been disappointed if I wasn’t there. It would have been nice to win, but that was all I could do really.”

Tom Pidcock, Dublin UCI Cyclocross World Cup 2022 (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com

Discussing what it was like to race a World Cup event so close to home, the Yorkshireman, who spent around ten minutes after his media duties were finished signing autographs and taking photos with young fans, said: “It was nice, the fans were really getting behind me today.

“But there was nowhere I felt I could have made the difference today – and we need to get rid of sand on the courses in the UK and Ireland. That should be a rule!

“With three laps to go, everyone was tired, and I pushed on – and nothing happened. I don’t know if I went faster, or the same speed, but no one got dropped and even people came back. It was a very close, open race today. It’s a shame. But in a situation like that I don’t think I have the power to make the difference on a flat course.”

Tom Pidcock signing autographs in Dublin (Ryan Mallon)

‘Sign here Tom!’ Pidcock greets his fans after the race

Following his third place in Dublin, Pidcock is now set to head to the much warmer climes of Mallorca, where he will join the rest of the Ineos squad for their pre-season training camp.

There, the Olympic mountain bike gold medallist hopes to build on his endurance and consistency on the road ahead of the 2023 classics season.

“During the ‘cross season, I want to be at a good level and enjoy it and get the benefits, and use them to go into the road season in a good place,” he said.

“I’m still here to enjoy myself and try to win races, but you also have to acknowledge that it is a benefit for the road.”

With his focus for next year very much on continuing and building upon the success he’s already achieved on the road, including a famous Tour de France stage win on Alpe d’Huez, the all-rounder has previously stated that he may not defend his rainbow jersey as the early February date for cyclocross’s biggest event will clash with his preparations for the classics.

When pressed on whether he is planning to take to the start line in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands, on 5 February, Pidcock was decidedly noncommittal: “I don’t know… Probably not. Not definitely.”

Thanks for clearing that up, Tom.

12 December 2022, 11:18
Wout van Aert, Dublin UCI Cyclocross World Cup 2022 (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)
Dodgy Guinness, lots of mud, rogue rags, and an audience with the King: Wout van Aert’s eventful weekend in Dublin

Can every round of the cyclocross World Cup take place in Ireland, please?

Yesterday – if you didn’t already tell from my excitable yelps of anticipation every five minutes on the last few live blogs – marked the first ever Dublin round of the UCI cyclocross World Cup.

And while there were a few concerns before the event about the benign nature of the course, and even whether the travel arrangements of a few big names would be thwarted by the weather, the muddy conditions, thrilling racing, and electric atmosphere generated by the 8,000 fans gathered at the Sport Ireland campus in Blanchardstown ensured that it certainly didn’t disappoint.

By the time the juniors had finished racing on what had been first in the morning a mainly frozen course, that frost had turned into a muddy, squelchy mess that left the riders – and spectators – caked in the brown stuff.

Though spare a thought for the optimistic teenager who opted to wear white crocs and socks to the ‘cross. I suppose he deserved everything he got really…

Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock, Dublin UCI Cyclocross World Cup 2022 (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com

Dressed much more appropriately for the occasion was Ireland’s greatest ever bike racer, Sean Kelly, who stood beside me for a brief moment during the thrilling elite women’s race before swiftly departing (was it something I said, Sean?).

It turned out, much to my relief, that the King simply had an appointment with a member of cycling’s current royalty, Wout van Aert:

Van Aert, it’s safe to say, had something of a memorable first weekend racing in Ireland. First, like any young man making the trip to Dublin, he was treated – if that’s the right word – to this particularly shocking imitation of an Irish classic:

Wout van Aert's terrible Guinness in Dublin (Wout van Aert, Instagram)

Where was his hotel, London?

Anyway, that appalling pint didn’t seem to put him off much, as the Belgian champion surged ahead of the pack on the penultimate lap to take his first ‘cross win of the season.

The win wasn’t without its drama, however. The course’s Jekyll and Hyde nature – a relatively flat layout heighted by the slip and slide nature of the ubiquitous mud – led to a frenetic, open start, with little separating the main contenders in the opening laps.

Van Aert, meanwhile, was lagging towards the back of this group, a post impeding his progress early on, before a rogue mechanic’s rag caught in his drivetrain, forcing a frantic run back to the pits:

It takes more than a dirty rag to stop Wout van Aert, however. While Tom Pidcock tried to take advantage of his rival’s misfortune by pressing ahead, the world champion’s legs deserted him in the mud on the sixth lap – right at the point where Van Aert cemented his recovery by accelerating clear for the win. Pidcock eventually got his legs turning again, but only enough to finish third, behind the very strong World Cup leader Laurens Sweeck.

Van Aert, proudly displaying that pesky rag on the podium, was happy with his winning weekend away in Dublin.

“It was a really pleasant experience,” the Jumbo-Visma rider said after the race. “A lot of people came out, which we don’t always see when we go abroad with the World Cup, so that was really good.

“The course was changing from minute to minute today, and that’s one of the hardest days in cyclocross when you have to adapt to the conditions. So it was nice.”

When asked if he’d return to take part in another cyclocross race in Dublin, Van Aert jokingly replied: “Until now I’ve never lost a race in Ireland, so I have to keep that going!”

Whether the World Cup will return to Dublin next year is currently unknown, but one thing’s for sure anyway – when there’s a chance of victory, Van Aert never throws the towel in.

I’ll get my mud-splattered coat…

12 December 2022, 15:19
Bradley Wiggins’… ahem, unusual approach to social media

I’ll leave you to make your own minds up about this one…

12 December 2022, 14:41
Entry Hill (via StreetView)
Bath Bike Park plans dismissed as “puff and nonsense”

Speaking of mud and knobbly tyres, last week on the blog we reported that plans for a bike park in Bath had been shelved after a bid to secure the funding required to complete the project failed.

The park, a proposed 30-acre facility situated on the grounds of the city’s former Entry Hill golf course, was set to open next summer, featuring five kilometres of purpose-built mountain bike trails, a pump track, skills and learn to ride areas, a bike shop and coaching services, as well as free-to-access walking, running and family cycling paths.

However, Bath and North East Somerset Council revealed last week that the plans have been abandoned altogether and that the site would remain as it is “for the short term”.

> Bath Bike Park plans shelved due to rising costs

And this morning an anonymous letter appeared in the Bath Chronicle which scathingly dismissed the proposals for the bike park – developed by Bristol-based cycling group Pedal Progression – as “puff and nonsense”.

The letter writer criticised the council’s belief that the bike park could have provided a hub for the local community, and instead argued that a beginners’ golf course could fulfil this role.

“In last week’s letters… I said that the Lib Dems couldn’t organise a celebration in a brewery, if their proposed re-development of the Entry Hill golf course into a bike park was anything to go by,” the correspondent wrote.

“The very next day BANES [Bath and North East Somerset Council] issued a rather vain and long-winded press release explaining that the proposal had now been suspended until 2024 because of rising development costs and insufficient capital funding.

“I said also that the mathematics of the business plan seemed to be the square root of madness. Both accusations now seem to be correct according to BANES’ pompous press release.

“Surely rising costs and capital funding problems had nothing to do with it. Simple common sense from the start should have immediately alerted the planners to the obvious fact that you can’t just dig up a former contaminated landfill site.”

The letter writer continued: “And it was even more obvious that such a small mountain bike park could never have become economically viable. The press release goes on about sustainability, a wonderful new community facility and the benefits of equality opportunity.

“All this is puff and nonsense. It cannot possibly apply to a small bike park. Whereas a beginners’ golf course does provide all these attributes. And it is certainly a delightful green open space in the city for wildlife, walkers and even blackberry pickers. What on earth were the Lib Dems thinking about?”

12 December 2022, 14:11
Cycling in the Snow, Act Two
12 December 2022, 14:02
12 December 2022, 13:25
christmas gift guide
Photo of the day (from those taken on my phone)

The world champion, the European champion, the Flemish flag held proudly aloft alongside the Irish tricolour, the mud, the snow, the passionate, if slightly freezing, fans, the ubiquitous inflatables, the obvious crop on the left-hand side of the photo to avoid including a very up-close-and-personal shot of a spectator looking the other way… this image has everything.

And would you believe that it was taken using this writer’s bog-standard phone? Oh, you would? Ah, okay…

In any case, my spot for the men’s race in Dublin yesterday was the perfect place to soak in the vibrant atmosphere at cyclocross’s brief sojourn to the Emerald Isle.

Despite the freezing temperatures and lack of alcohol (at least to purchase, though judging by the endless queues for food, not much would have been bought anyway), over 8,000 cycling fans brought the taste of Flanders, with a uniquely Irish blend, to the Sport Ireland Campus in Blanchardstown yesterday.

On the hilliest section of the relatively flat course, the familiar Irish sporting battle cry of ‘Olé, Olé, Olé’ wafted through the air, alongside chants for the home riders battling their way around the course.

The biggest cheers, however, were reserved for the riders brave – or foolish – enough to tackle the steep, muddy hill on their bike, rather than run. When a rider, such as France’s Mickaël Crispin, conquered the hill without clipping out, the fans responded as if they had just witnessed Harry Kane blazing the ball over the bar from 12 yards (sorry...).

Same again next year, folks?

12 December 2022, 12:42
Remco’s new threads

I have to say, I actually quite enjoy the late ‘90s, early 2000s ‘Let’s throw as many sponsor logos onto the jersey as we can’ vibe of Remco Evenepoel’s world champion’s kit for next year.

It could be worse, of course – the shorts could be white…

12 December 2022, 12:11
Fem van Empel and Denise Betsema, Dublin UCI Cyclocross World Cup 2022 (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)
Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse put on a show in Dublin

While the black, yellow, and red of the Belgian champion’s jersey, with a generous helping of brown, roared to the win in the men’s race, it was the Dutch who dominated the elite women’s event at the cyclocross World Cup’s first ever Irish round, as the rampant Fem van Empel secured the win after a ding-dong battle with compatriot Puck Pieterse.

Like Van Aert, the precious Pieterse was hampered in the early stages – dominated by the extremely fast-starting 19-year-old Marie Schreiber – by mechanicals and a crash on the first set of barriers which left her 30 seconds behind Van Empel.

Pieterse managed to pull herself back into contention, setting up the closing stages for a scintillating, back-and-forth battle with her fellow 20-year-old, as the sun began to shine on the freezing Sport Ireland campus.

Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse, Dublin UCI Cyclocross World Cup 2022 (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com

Despite her best efforts, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider wasn’t able to finish off a remarkable comeback, as Van Empel proved too strong around the final bends, holding off Pieterse to take her sixth World Cup win of a stunning season so far.

Fellow Dutchwoman Denise Betsema, who followed Van Empel in the opening laps but eventually was forced to give way, rounded off the podium, while Ineos’ new signing Pauline Ferrand-Prevot took an encouraging seventh and British rider Millie Couzens finished ninth.

12 December 2022, 10:53
It seems as if hacking data to qualify for an actual world championships may result in more than a six-month ban from the turbo trainer…
12 December 2022, 10:32
“And it all becomes a big circle of angry”: The guy who decides cycling

Posted without comment…

12 December 2022, 09:51
Peak Live Blog content: Cycling Mikey rides Jeremy Vine’s penny-farthing

It’s two for two this morning for Carla Francome…

Yesterday, the cycling activist captured perhaps the most live blog thing that’s ever happened in the history of the live blog – Cycling Mikey attempting (and failing) to ride Jeremy Vine’s penny-farthing:

That’s it, I think we’ve peaked. Let’s just pack it all up now…

Next time lads, could you make sure you take the penny-farthing to a bike lane blocked by cars on Snake Pass and get Ashley Neal to drive behind while he’s filming one of his YouTube videos? Cheers.

12 December 2022, 09:20
“It’s beautiful out there… But will I be able to cycle in it?” Are you on your bike today?

I have it on good authority (from the view out of my office window) that there’s been a fair amount of snow a-fallin’ across the UK and Ireland during the past 24 hours.

And while I’m obligated to stay inside today – live blogs need live blogging, and all that – some intrepid cyclists will of course be venturing out into what the BBC is calling “travel chaos”.

One of those snow-loving cyclists is active travel advocate Carla Francome, the joint winner of the 2022 Campaigner of the Year title at the recent London Cycling Campaign awards and (even more impressively, at least to us) a recent guest on the road.cc podcast.

> Staying calm in the face of online abuse: cycling advocate shares her story 

But even Carla wasn’t too sure about whether to head out on her bike this morning:

The advice offered by Cycling Twitter was somewhat divided:

But in the end, the call of the bike – and the need to attend some meetings (ever heard of Zoom?) – won out in the end:

Have you cycled into work this morning? Or is the bike still wrapped up all warm in the shed? Let us know in the comments!

And if you are thinking of braving the snowy weather on two wheels, make sure to catch up on road.cc’s handy guide to safe cycling when the temperature drops:

> How to ride your bike through ice and snow — top tips for safe cycling when the mercury drops 

Ryan Mallon

After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.

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62 comments

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HoarseMann | 2 years ago
2 likes

Been to the supermarket on the town bike, it's fresh so still slushy or crunchy, so not bad to ride on at all with fat semi-slicks. Be a different story tomorrow once it's melted a bit then re-frozen. Might have to dig the Schwalbe Marathon Winters out.

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Steve K | 2 years ago
2 likes

No pics - sorry - but I cycled into London today on my 25mm conti four seasons with no issues at all.  Once out of my own road, the main roads were all clear; a little bit more hit and miss with the cycle lanes (not all of which I used, therefore).

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