Transport chief accused of “trolling vulnerable road users” after ironically tweeting photo of “cleared” cycle lane – with car parked in it; Astana sack López over doping links; No more racing jackets for G; Cav retirement rumour + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
A snowy path to the future?
Ever so accurate.
“Every winter, fresh snow reveals how much we’ve over-designed our streets & roads for cars, making them faster & more dangerous, & how much space we could reclaim for people & public life” via @fietsprofessor pic.twitter.com/0mTgr0gwkn— Dan Acher (@Dan_Acher) December 12, 2022
“I haven’t seen much enthusiasm for dropper posts,” says Matej Mohorič
Remember that time in March when Matej Mohorič blew everyone away on the descent of the Poggio and we all went dropper post mad?
Just in case the early spring is a distant, fading memory for you, here’s a quick recap: At the first monument of the season, Milan-San Remo, the Bahrain Victorious escaped on the fast, technical descent into the finish to secure the biggest win of his career – with the help of a MTB-style Fox Transfer SL dropper post.
“It helped me to lower the centre of gravity to handle the bike, but still to remain seated on the saddle,” Mohorič told the road.cc podcast after his victory.
“I was looking forward to the race and experiencing the features in the race. In training it seemed to me that it made a huge impact, and then in the race it really confirmed it.”
At the finish in San Remo, the 28-year-old claimed that he may have “destroyed cycling”, as now every pro would presumably rush to use the new tech.
However, speaking at his team’s winter training camp in Spain, Mohorič is now unconvinced whether dropper posts will catch on in the peloton.
“I didn’t see so much enthusiasm about using it in road races after I used it successfully in San Remo,” he told Cycling News this week.
“But I still believe it makes a difference. It makes the bike easier to control and lowers the centre of gravity. If there’s a chance, I’ll definitely use it again in some races, but I don’t know what the others will do.”
The two-time Tour de France stage winner noted that most teams may be reticent to try out dropper posts as most seat tubes on road bikes wouldn’t fit those currently on the market (a requirement by the UCI for any new tech). Bahrain Victorious, on the other hand, were able to use the Fox Transfer SL – rather than their sponsor FSA’s own dropper post – thanks to the Merida Scultura’s traditional, rounded seat post.
“It’s not so easy to implement on a road bike. It needs to be assessed by the UCI, safety tested, approved, so it’s not so easy,” Mohorič said.
“The one we used was completely standard and that’s one of the rules you need to respect, it needs to be tested and so on. So, it’s not going to be easy for all the others to use. I’m not sure if they will push for it or not.”
Human Powered Health emerge as the latest in a long line of teams linked to Mark Cavendish’s signature
A new name in the Cavendish saga is Human Powered Health, not a likely name for a TDF wildcard but wielerflits often has good sources https://t.co/otNeWuyJOK
— José Been (@JoseBeenTV) December 13, 2022
So, file Human Powered Health alongside Israel-Premier Tech (though that one’s since been quashed after they rescued fellow Brit Stevie Williams from the sinking B&B ship), Ineos, Arkéa-Samsic, Astana, AG2R, Trek-Segafredo, retirement, Total Énergies…
It seems a bit of a long shot, however – even with Cavendish on board, Human Powered Health will struggle to pick up a Tour de France wildcard place. As Wielerflits noted, the American team has only been invited to two WorldTour races in the past four years, and is yet to make its grand tour debut.
But at this stage, who really knows?
Tour and Giro stage winner Pierre Rolland retires from professional cycling
While the rumours circulating around Mark Cavendish’s apparently imminent retirement appear somewhat fanciful, one grand tour stage winning veteran has decided to step away from the sport following the demise of the B&B Hôtels team.
Pierre Rolland, a double Tour de France stage winner on summit finishes, announced his retirement from professional cycling on the social media.
“I would have liked for the adventure to continue but destiny decided otherwise and I’m announcing to you that I’m ending my professional career,” the 36-year-old Frenchman said in a video which featured some highlights from his 15 years in the peloton.
Turning pro with Crédit Agricole in 2007, Rolland burst onto the scene by winning two races as a neo pro, before taking the mountains classification at the Dauphiné Libéré.
In 2011, he won one of the greatest stages in the Tour de France’s modern history, beating Samuel Sánchez and Alberto Contador on Alpe d’Huez, on the way to finishing 11th overall while riding most of the race in support of Europcar teammate Thomas Voeckler, who narrowly missed out on a podium place in Paris.
The following year, Rolland repeated the trick, soloing to the win on the Tour’s hardest Alpine summit finish on La Toussuire.
Already established as one of the peloton’s most dangerous baroudeur, especially in the mountains, Rolland also proved his credentials as a capable GC rider, backing up that win in the Alps with eighth place overall at the Tour in 2012 (along with the white young rider’s jersey), before finishing an impressive fourth at the 2014 Giro d’Italia. He also secured the overall victories at several short stages, including the Circuit de la Sarthe and the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, and took two top tens at the Dauphiné.
But it was stage hunting where Rolland really excelled, and in 2017 – by then riding for the Cannondale-Drapac team – he once again soloed to a mountain breakaway stage win, this time at the Giro d’Italia, his third victory at a grand tour.
Rolland wins Stage 16 of the 2017 Giro d’Italia (LaPresse – D’Alberto)
As he settled into elder statesman status at B&B, the results slowly dried up, though he would remain a constant presence in breaks at stage races and grand tours.
As B&B imploded last week, Rolland was forced to deny that he’d agreed a deal with Peter Sagan’s TotalEnergies team.
“Surprised to discover where my future will be written in the press,” the veteran French rider wrote on Twitter last Thursday. “I will keep you informed in due time on my social networks of what my future will be.”
In a year of high-profile retirements, this afternoon’s announcement closes another entertaining door in cycling’s recent history.
Priorities, priorities
London’s priorities … pic.twitter.com/mNmgN1abp7
— Carla Francome (@carlafrancome) December 13, 2022
It’s basically the inverse of the Highway Code’s hierarchy of vulnerable road users…
I wonder what the Met Office would say about this
All that talk about cycling in the snow has got me excited for a certain cyclocross World Cup race coming up this weekend:
Timelapse of the build-up of the Val Di Sole #CXWorldCup course. Only a few days to go… 👀 pic.twitter.com/EUdRS7xsWV
— Jens Dekker (@jens_dekker) December 13, 2022
It’s just a pity I’ll have to settle for watching it at home this time around…
Down in the comments section at midnight: Sarcastic tweets, Met Office musings, and G’s glasses
This morning’s cautionary tale about elected representatives trying to be funny on social media has prompted some harsh criticism of Edinburgh City Council’s approach to active travel:
‘Transport chief’ doing some heavy lifting here 😉 but yes, welcome to Edinburgh where parking in cycle lanes is so common that it seems it’s not even noticed (except by those valiantly trying to cycle in the lanes). https://t.co/KO4RR1elzO
— Kirsty Lewin (@KirstyLewin) December 13, 2022
road.cc reader OnYerBike was particularly scathing about transport convenor Scott Arthur’s “cleared cycle lane” tweet, whether it was a misjudged attempt at humour or not:
I don’t think there’s a good explanation.
Either the tweet was serious and meant to be taken at face value, which suggests the councillor didn’t recognise a problem with the car being parked there (whether it be the councillor’s or someone else’s).
Or it was ironic/sarcastic, in which case I think it’s very poor taste coming from the Transport Convenor of the council, who has done (as far as I can tell) nothing to actually address problem parking across the city since being elected and very little to promote active transport more generally (and indeed has overseeing some measures being removed).
This seems to me a common thread from Cllr Arthur – he talks like he cares about active travel but actions speak louder than words and as time goes on, the silence is increasingly deafening.
Edinburgh be famous.
Not for the quality of its municipal governance though. https://t.co/MYePy6nygx
— 𝙾𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 (@overlandertheb1) December 13, 2022
Meanwhile, Seventyone pointed out that the Met Office’s seemingly “car-centric” weather warnings, and focus on the danger posed by icy conditions to cyclists and pedestrians, could actually be “due to the likelihood that the roads have probably been gritted and the pavements and cycle lanes probably haven’t?
“It’s actually a subtle hint to councils to grit all transport infrastructure, not just roads?”
Then again, maybe not…
And finally, as we solemnly gathered this afternoon to mourn the passing of one of the peloton’s most distinctive fashion statements – Geraint Thomas’ awful Oakley Racing Jackets – Rendel Harris noted that, thanks to SunGod’s rather groovy Tempests, all may not be lost for G in his quest for outdated racing chic…
“I’d much rather be hit by a sliding pedestrian or cyclist!” Cyclists blast ‘car-centric’ weather warnings
We love a dodgy info-graphic here on the live blog, and with snow and icy conditions sweeping the country (okay, okay, not all of it – pipe down in the comments), the Met Office has duly obliged.
Yesterday, as it reported that a snow and ice warning was set to put in place today in northern Scotland and northeast England, the Met Office – with the aid of a lovely cartoon – helpfully showed us the dangers of stepping outside in such weather, whether by bike (you’ll skid) or on foot (you’ll end up on your backside).
But what about motorists, I hear you cry? Well, according to the Met Office’s cartoon, you’ll simply glide on past the stricken cyclists and pedestrians, your car immune to the icy conditions:
A #snow and #ice warning across northern Scotland and northeast England has been updated to start at 0000 Tuesday
For further details 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Stay #WeatherAware⚠️ pic.twitter.com/PHq21DqfEe
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 12, 2022
An earlier weather warning from last week, however, did at least show that you can very briefly lose control of your car on ice, before correcting it and continuing on your way. If you’re on your bike? Well, you’re hitting the deck, of course:
Wintry showers will bring a risk of icy surfaces in parts of the UK over the coming days
Yellow weather warnings for #ice have been updated
Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Stay #WeatherAware⚠️ pic.twitter.com/wxWe72AqCq
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 8, 2022
The tweets have been described as “weird car-centrism” by transport journalist Carlton Reid, while lecturer Neal Hockley wrote that the Met Office “seems to be promoting cars as immune to slipping on snow and ice. Seems they didn’t see the video from Gloucestershire yesterday or think about externalities. I’d much rather be hit by a sliding pedestrian or cyclist!”
Meanwhile, out on the non-animated roads:
And this is the reality: [3/3]https://t.co/xb8PsAM9ph
— Drew White (@drewsnx) December 13, 2022
“The demise of an icon”: Is this the end of Geraint Thomas’ long-term relationship with his beloved Oakleys?
2022 has been the year of high-profile retirements. Some of the leading lights of the late 2000s and 2010s, including Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde, Philippe Gilbert, Lisa Brennauer, Richie Porte, and Tom Dumoulin have finally left the peloton, leaving some big shoes for a new generation of hungry talent to step into.
We learned last night, however, that time may also be up for one of the true icons of that era – the Oakley Racing Jackets.
ASO/Alex Broadway
The distinctive – if rather divisive – glasses have long been discontinued by the Californian company, but have maintained their place in the pro peloton thanks to one famous fan: Geraint Thomas.
The Welshman has stuck with the Armstrong-era throwbacks through thick and thin, from Tour victories to close encounters with trees, so much so that when he was mandated to wear another, more modern, less bug-like pair for one stage only at the Tour this year, ripples of shock and apprehension spread throughout the internet (I may be exaggerating slightly, but it was still a surprise not to see his face dominated by those garish white frames, resembling Bob Dylan on the Rolling Thunder Revue tour).
Shudder…
But all good (or at least memorable) things must come to an end, and while we will see Thomas at the 2023 Giro, we almost certainly won’t be seeing his trademark Oakleys.
Yesterday, the Ineos Grenadiers confirmed that they will be partnering with British brand SunGod for 2023, ending their 12-year association with Oakley.
“INEOS Grenadiers is a performance-led team so we pride ourselves on working with the most forward-thinking, agile and performance-driven partners – that’s why we’ve chosen SunGod as our new, long-term eyewear partner,” Deputy Team Principal Rod Ellingworth said in a statement.
All well and good, but won’t somebody please think of Geraint?
Luckily, cycling writer Caley Fretz has, mocking up an image of what Thomas will look like in his new team-mandated shades:
End of an era and the untimely demise of an icon: Geraint Thomas has to wear SunGod glasses next year. No more Oakley Racing Jackets. “All riders will be contractually required to wear SunGod,” a team rep told me.
I have photoshoppped our future. pic.twitter.com/mokc6ZKozC
— Caley Fretz (@CaleyFretz) December 12, 2022
Whatever you think of the Racing Jackets (and personally I’m a fan of the modern, oversized models) that image is just not right.
Why must all my teenage cycling memories be ripped from me, why?
The Giro according to G: Thomas to target Italian grand tour in 2023
We all knew it was coming, but 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas has confirmed that he will be heading to the Bel paese next May for the Giro d’Italia.
Despite finishing an impressive third at the Tour this year, the Ineos Grenadiers rider said in November that he will focus on a return to the Giro in 2023, where the Welshman has unfinished business after two freak crashes spoiled his previous overall bids at the Cora Rosa.
The 36-year-old also noted his disappointment at the dearth of time trialling on the 2023 Tour route, which Giro organisers RCS Sport have more than made up for with three races of truth on the menu for next May, totalling 71 kilometres.
And last night, Thomas finally officially confirmed his grand tour priorities for next season, with this rather jazzy announcement video:
Oh go on then 👌🇮🇹 #Giro pic.twitter.com/vTzZRhb93z
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) December 12, 2022
And this altogether more straightforward post from later in the evening:
Giro here we come pic.twitter.com/JqG5UvmUWf
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) December 12, 2022
One of his potential gregarious wasn’t too impressed with G’s choice of pizza, however:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 🤬🤬🤬
— Filippo Ganna © (@GannaFilippo) December 12, 2022
too late
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) December 13, 2022
Is Mark Cavendish about to retire? B&B Hôtels management allegedly told riders and staff that sponsors pulled out of project after British champion decided to quit sport – but Pete Kennaugh says sprinter has “definitely signed a contract” for 2023
The collapse of the B&B Hôtels team last week – after an autumn long search for a substantial funding boost ultimately failed – has ensured that cycling’s rumour mill, usually dormant at this stage of the winter, has erupted into life, as riders contracted to Jérôme Pineau’s ambitious but ill-fated project now scramble to secure new squads for 2023.
One of those out-of-work riders is, of course, Mark Cavendish, the former world champion and 34-time Tour de France stage winner who, along with Audrey Cordon-Ragot, was set to spearhead Pineau’s attempt to achieve WorldTour success.
While the French team’s collapse, confirmed by the UCI’s publication of its squad list for 2023 yesterday, has unleashed a tidal wave of rumours concerning Cavendish’s possible destination, one entirely different kind of rumour has emerged in the past 24 hours: that the Manx Missile is preparing to step away from the sport altogether.
According to the Placeholder podcast, hosted by former Cycling Tips editor Caley Fretz, a source close to the B&B team says that Pineau and the management, when informing the riders last week that the squad was about to collapse, claimed that Cavendish had backed out of his agreement to join the team and instead had decided to retire from the sport completely.
Cavendish’s alleged last-minute decision then caused the incoming big-money sponsors, who seemingly had been wooed by the prospect of having their name plastered across the chest of a potential Tour de France record breaker, to withdraw their funding, causing Pineau’s precarious house of cards to collapse.
As Fretz points out in the podcast, the source – deemed to be reliable – may be correct about the contents of the meeting. Whether Pineau and his fellow management were being entirely truthful about the reasons behind the team’s demise is another matter entirely.
Surely Cavendish, on the brink of a career-defining bit of history, wouldn’t simply slink off into the night without any kind of announcement or fanfare?
Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Pineau’s alleged attempts to deflect the blame for his squad’s collapse appear to have lost even more traction today, as Cavendish’s fellow Manxman and friends Pete Kennaugh told the Never Strays Far podcast that the former world champion has indeed “signed a contract” for 2023.
“From what I can gather, he is very well, very happy, good morale,” Kennaugh said.
“So, he’s definitely signed a contract. With whom, I don’t know.
“He was at Gent Six last time I spoke to him for Iljo Keisse’s retirement race. Good spirits, talking about training hard this winter on the Isle of Man.
“He’s doing well and he’s ready for next year. Every top sprinter in the peloton should be very worried. He’s definitely got one.”
As has been the case throughout this off-season when it comes to Cavendish – watch this space.
“Cycling. Never not entertaining”: Miguel Ángel López sacked by Astana due to doping links, but rider maintains he has “never tested positive”
On the subject of irony – this time of the unintended variety – Astana’s mercurial climber Miguel Ángel López has been sacked by the Kazakh team after fresh links to a suspected doping doctor were revealed.
López was initially suspended by Astana in July after reports emerged claiming that the Colombian was being investigated for his alleged involvement in a drug trafficking ring in Spain, led by physiologist Marcos Maynar, who was arrested in May charged with a crime against public health, drug trafficking, and money laundering as part of the Spanish police’s Operation Ilex investigation.
With the absence of any concrete findings from the authorities in Spain or the UCI, López’s summer suspension proved short-lived and he was integrated back into the squad less than two weeks later.
Astana Qazaqstan Team discovered new elements showing M. A. Lopez’ probable connection with Dr M. Maynar. Accordingly, the team had no other solution than to end the contract between team and rider, based on breaches of said contract and internal team rules, with immediate effect
— Astana Qazaqstan Team (@AstanaQazTeam) December 12, 2022
However, in a statement released last night – which appeared to cause so many clicks that the team’s website kept crashing – Astana announced that it “had discovered new elements showing Miguel Angel Lopez’ probable connection with Dr Marcos Maynar.
“Accordingly, the team had no other solution than to end the contract between team and rider, based on breaches of said contract and internal team rules, with immediate effect.”
Yes, you read that right. Astana, the team barred from the 2008 Tour de France for its widespread doping practices, led by former rider Alexander Vinokourov, he of the two-year suspension for blood doping and, when he returned to the peloton, bribery charges (which he was eventually cleared of due to the lack of concrete evidence), sacking a rider for his alleged involvement in a doping conspiracy.
You have got to love the fact that Alexander Vinokourov has just fired a rider for their association with a doping doctor. Cycling. Never not entertaining.
— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) December 12, 2022
Cycling can be a strange world sometimes.
Vino wins the controversial Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2010 (©Photosport International)
In another eery throwback to the mid-2000s, Spanish newspaper ABC has reported that the “new elements” of the investigation discovered by Astana relate to a document which claims that López received a dose of menotropin, a human growth hormone that increases muscle mass and eliminate fluids, before the start of this year’s Giro d’Italia in Hungary.
The drugs were allegedly received by Astana soigneur Vicente Belda García, the son of former Kelme manager Vicente Belda, who was a central figure in the Operación Puerto case which brought down Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, and a host of others.
According to ABC, the drug caused a problem in López’s left leg, forcing him to pull out of the Giro during stage four’s ride to Etna. A hip injury was cited as the official reason for the 28-year-old’s early withdrawal.
Cycling author Peter Cossins noted the similarities between López’s DNF at the Giro and the early rumblings of Operación Puerto, sparked by Kelme rider – and eventual whistle-blower – Jesús Manzano’s adverse reaction to a drug at the 2003 Tour de France.
Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
And if that wasn’t enough on your 2000s-era pro cycling bingo card, López has released his own statement, prepared by his lawyers, which describes his sacking as “a clear case of abusive termination without just cause” and includes one of that period’s finest chestnuts – ‘I have never tested positive’.
“The rider hereby informs that he considers such decision as with no cause, and that there are no new facts which could justify such decision, not known or reported before November 2022 by Astana Team,” the statement says.
“The rider rejects any allegation that could damage his name and honour as professional rider, and reminds that he has never tested positive for any drugs or doping, nor has he been investigated by any authority.
“Mr. Miguel Angel Lopez hereby informs that he will defend his rights before the corresponding Courts, in a case which he understands as a clear case of abusive termination without just cause.”
It’s been a while since we’ve heard the ‘I’ve never tested positive’ line being trotted out, but it’s nice to have the old girl back, if only for nostalgia purposes.
López – known as ‘Superman’, for some reason – has been a consistent, if mercurial, presence on the sport’s biggest climbs since turning pro in 2015 with Astana, where he has spent all of his career apart from one ill-fated and dramatic season with Movistar in 2021.
> Miguel Angel Lopez slaps fan who knocked him from bike
He’s finished in the top ten at all three grand tours and taken stages at the Tour and Vuelta – though if the current Puerto premonitions are anything to go by, his name may be remembered for completely different reasons in the years to come.
New generation, and all that.
Transport chief accused of “trolling vulnerable road users” after ironically tweeting photo of “cleared” cycle lane – with car parked in it
Here’s another one for our ever-expanding ‘Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lane?’ folder, which, if we’re honest, may require a whole new filing cabinet at this point.
As the snow fell in Edinburgh over the weekend, the city council’s transport convenor, Scott Arthur, tweeted his gratitude that a footpath and cycle lane on the Comiston Road had been cleared.
However, the Labour councillor – whether intentionally or otherwise – failed to note one crucial element of the photo that ensured that the cycle lane wasn’t completely “clear”:
It’s great to see the path and cycle lane has been cleared on Comiston Road. 👍 pic.twitter.com/3ZaKEd3T5V
— Cllr Scott Arthur 🌍🌈 (@CllrScottArthur) December 11, 2022
It’s safe to say that a few people were rather confused by Arthur’s tweet:
You may not have noticed this, but there appears to be a rather large obstacle blocking that bike lane, making it unusable. Perhaps look up the definition of “cleared”??
— Kersti – FIGJAM 🇪🇺 (@kersti) December 12, 2022
All I see is a car irresponsibly parked in a cycle lane, which is a common occurrence throughout the city. Why aren’t we banning this and pavement parking? What’s the point of having ‘cycle lanes’ that are really ‘parking bays’ for vehicles?
— Chris Red🇲🇾🏴🚲 (@ChrisRedism) December 11, 2022
Where else would car park of the bike lane was still full of snow?
— Bertil Hatt (@bertil_hatt) December 11, 2022
Wee bit astonished that you didn’t reflect on the car parked right in the cycle lane.
— Craig Flunkert (@flunkerts) December 11, 2022
But if there are two things that people on the internet find it difficult to grasp, it’s the ability to have a rational debate and sarcasm:
Maybe I was being ironic? 🤔
— Cllr Scott Arthur 🌍🌈 (@CllrScottArthur) December 11, 2022
However, those who did get the joke were perhaps the most scathing of Edinburgh’s transport convenor, pointing out that the motorist wouldn’t have been able to park in the cycle lane if proper segregation was in place:
Are we working on getting protection for the bike path to avoid that situation?
— Kahve (@hammerotass) December 12, 2022
Is this a piss take or do you just not care about the bloody obvious problem in the picture?
— Aaron (@arnoboko) December 12, 2022
I’ve lost track, but aren’t the council bringing forward bollard removal and easement of parking restrictions inside the cycle lane anyway? If only the Transport Convener was on the case. https://t.co/oBl0zDgnEr
— Dave McCraw (@david_mccraw) December 12, 2022
Arthur became transport convenor in May this year, when a minority Labour administration took over Edinburgh City Council following a deal with Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, but said at the time of his appointment that he will stand down from the role when a “more able colleague” becomes available.
Since then, he has vowed to “move on from the war between motorists and cyclists” but has come in for criticism from cyclists who believe he is reversing the council’s plans for active travel infrastructure.
In response to Arthur’s ‘sarcastic tweet’, cycling advocate Dave McCraw tweeted: “Surely it takes a special kind of balls for a city’s transport chief to simultaneously remove bike lane protections and then troll vulnerable road users about drivers doing exactly what the removal of protection is intended to allow, no?”
Your sarcasm does you no favours.
Sort it or resign.
You are rapidly becoming Edinburgh’s Disgrace.— Jon Drummond (@JonGDrummond) December 11, 2022
Last month, the council voted to extend the Spaces for People walking and cycling schemes – which have since been rebranded as Travelling Safely – for a further 18 months.
“By extending the lifespan of these schemes we’ll have the chance to test and trial the measures to see how they’re working as life in the city settles to a new normality following the pandemic,” Arthur said.
“I know the changes have divided opinion but there is no doubt that providing safe spaces to walk, wheel and cycle can significantly benefit the health, wellbeing and pockets of people in the city, not to mention positively impacting the environment by supporting sustainable travel and better connecting people to public transport.”
> “Moronic” much-ridiculed zig-zag cycle lane now blamed as cyclist injured by shallow kerb crash
In September, the transport convenor said that the council was fully behind retaining “the majority at least” of the schemes, but also acknowledged that people who opposed the installation of bike lanes “feel let down by how councillors have dealt with this. They feel let down and they feel there was a lack of transparency and I think collectively in this committee we have a duty to rebuild that trust.”
13 December 2022, 09:45
We’ll bring you all the reaction to MVDP’s successful appeal when we get it…
Mathieu van der Poel assault conviction overturned by Australian court
The Sydney judge said the girls who repeatedly knocked on his door the night before the World Championship road race had been "annoying and invasive"
13 December 2022, 09:45
Death, taxes, and La Vuelta finding another monstrous double-digit brute to torture the peloton...
"Brutal" new 20% monster climb rumoured for next year's Vuelta a España
Race director Javier Guillén has promised a "spectacular" and "very mountainous" route, with summit finishes atop the Angliru and Tourmalet also touted
13 December 2022, 09:45
‘The kids these days, they have an app for everything, even for checking their brake pads…’
Shimano files patent for app that can tell you when bike tyres and disc pads need replacing
Will we soon be using an app to tell us when to fit new components?
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Latest Comments
I cannot edit my post; the need for a clear distinction between the two is not for semantics, but for those of us who are convoy drivers, who are licensed for that role. We take it very seriously and can incur fines and punishment from the UCI for wrongdoing. Those in front, in the caravan, are just normal everyday drivers and do not have the experience of driving in a race convoy, sometimes at speed, with riders all around us. Therefore, should not be taking risks on any part of the route.
Your wording on this needs to be clear, you've mixed up two different parts of the race. The vehicle was from the publicity caravan (Out in front of the race), similar to what you get at the Tour de France, they throw out merchandise to roadside fans, but later in the article, you say "Tour du Rwanda’s official convoy". The convoy on a UCI race is the vehicles which travel behind the race "in convoy" which include the team cars, officals cars, neutral service...etc. You need to have clear distinction between the two. This was not a convoy vehicle, it was a caravan vehicle.
“when the government confirmed that Nottinghamshire County Council will receive £6.7 million for active travel over the next four years, with part of this funding to be used to repair the greenway” Wow - 6.7 million for the WHOLE council for a WHOLE four years for active travel. And once this one shared route has been repaired and the barriers paid for, there could be a WHOLE five million left for the rest of the county. For four years! Astonishingly generous. Imagine how much excellent infrastructure they will build.
Standard journalist protection against any possible action for libel or defamation when mentioning any accusation that hasn't been proven in court. Obviously it's pretty unlikely that an unidentified person (it doesn't even say in which country the incident occurred) would be taking legal action over this but it's good practice always to include it. While there is no reason to believe Swenson has made up the story there are always different perspectives: the driver or passenger might well claim that the door was already open before he arrived and he wasn't paying attention. Unless/until a case is proved in court or by admission it remains an allegation and so it's safest to add the "allegedly" proviso.
Swenson was hit by "a motorist’s car door, which was 'allegedly' swung open into his path." Allegedly swung open? Is there some reason to believe Swenson is making up this story?
And to show the sleeves with the dummy in the riding position.
The people who would listen to them aren't much of the problem. What're needed are for [insert high profile sportsball people of your choice] to do this.
Get some help you tedious fool.
No, now everybody can see the space after your opening bracket!
What he means is there's nowhere to park all day for free! Morrisons has a 2 hour limit and the shopping centre is pay and display.
49 thoughts on “Transport chief accused of “trolling vulnerable road users” after ironically tweeting photo of “cleared” cycle lane – with car parked in it; Astana sack López over doping links; No more racing jackets for G; Cav retirement rumour + more on the live blog”
It’d be even funnier and more
It’d be even funnier and more
ironicmoronic if that car was the Labour councillors’ car…You beat me to it!
You beat me to it!
I’m thinking maybe it was, if
I’m thinking maybe it was, if he’d cycled there the bicycle would have definitely been in shot.
He got there somehow, and if he’s a typical drivest, he would never have understood that parking on it would be ridiculous.
I don’t think there’s a good
I don’t think there’s a good explanation.
Either the tweet was serious and meant to be taken at face value, which suggests the Cllr didn’t recognise a problem with the car being parked there (whether it be the Cllr’s or someone else’s).
Or it was ironic/sarcastic, in which case I think it’s very poor taste coming from the Transport Convenor of the council, who has done (as far as I can tell) nothing to actually address problem parking across the city since being elected and very little to promote active transport more generally (and indeed has overseeing some measures being removed). https://twitter.com/ActiveEDICount is informative and depressing.
This seems to me a common thread from Cllr Arthur – he talks like he cares about active travel but actions speak louder than words and as time goes on, the silence is increasingly deafening.
That lane may have been
That lane may have been cleared of snow, but plenty in Edinburgh still very icy this morning. Only saw one rider using the skating rink of the London Road lane (often a reservoir of water, leaves and mud) – a Just Eat rider who hopefully had studded tyres but I doubt it.
And on that… Who is ordering a takeaway at 10 am?
People who won’t want to walk
People who won’t want to walk or cycle out for a MaccyD Sausage McMuffin Meal or a Greggs.
Maybe Sungod could just paint
Maybe Sungod could just paint some fake white frame lines on G’s lenses?
Commentators would appreciate it I’m sure, as he’s so distinctive in the peloton.
We share the roads with these
We share the roads with these people
This driver was reported for driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition in #Harlow last night after only bothering to de-ice a very small section of the window. – Essex Roads Policing
I remember advice to scrape
I remember advice to scrape ice off all your windows before setting off…
Nowadays, there seem to be a lot of people who think all they need to do is sit there with the engine running while they let their window wipers do the heavy lifting
Saw that today as I’m wfh and
Saw that today as I’m wfh and my window faces the front.
They didn’t even check the wipers were not frozen on before starting the wipers, then drove off with both side windows down as they couldn’t be bothered to clear them !
This driver was reported for
This driver was reported for driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition in #Harlow(link is external) last night after only bothering to de-ice a very small section of the window. – Essex Roads Policing
Straight in the bin. Remember, this is the force which claims that it can’t be a close pass if the cyclist doesn’t wobble or brake, no matter how close it is
I’d hope Essex Roads Policing
I’d hope Essex Roads Policing would not bin their own reports.
I have made 3 reports for close passes recently but a lottery as to nfa, letter, nip.
hirsute wrote:
But, alas, they don’t want to share them with us…
I’ll always remember seeing a
I’ll always remember seeing a car slowly pulling up to a junction out of a side street with the driver half out his door window scraping snow off the windscreen.
RE: Comiston Road – busy wide
RE: Comiston Road – busy wide road taking a long uphill out of the city. With the usual confusion of other linking roads, some shops, facilities, residential dwellings etc.
Plus side – there’s a fair bit of cycle lane on the uphill side and quite a bit on the downhill (you’ll be faster than the cars except in very light traffic coming down).
Also plus – Edinburgh are reasonably good about maintenance e.g. actual snow clearance occasionally as well as salt / gritting. (UK is behind the times on the best way to do this for cyclists though – using less salt!)
Not part of my regular routes but when I’ve been there it’s far from the worst.
However – as the councillor reflects – for all the cycling you see around the city the majority of Edinburgh people are currently car-favouring folks – some of them are “driving extremists”. And on this road – as on all – you’ll see plenty of “just got to park overnight / pop into shop / take this urgent call”. For example this typical entry from Streeview showing how to use your phone, right by a junction (with broad sweeping entry…) and on some crossing zig-zags.
There’s one bit on Comiston
There’s one bit on Comiston Road that is pretty awful – segregated cycle lane forces you into the gutter just before an unprotected pinch point. Made even worse by the fact that traffic coming down from Braid Hills Road rarely stops behind the give way markings.
I’d forgotten that one.
I’d forgotten that one. Sadly it didn’t stand out though because that’s pretty much a universal in Edinburgh’s “infra”. Very common to find a rather narrow pinch point at pedestrian refuges. All recent and many previous changes involved working within the existing carriageway and retaining lanes (and often parking). So “there’s no space” and the protection or even the lane gives up. Like the bus stops where you’re supposed to suddenly swerve right around them (or jump them?).
If I recall correctly a Musselburgh one featured on road.cc some weeks back – the Comiston Road one is worse I’d say as up to that point the “protection” was semi-decent, then you get squeezed!
Must get round to doing a tribute to BicycleDutch’s “How wide is a Dutch Cyclepath” comparing a) Edinburgh and NL and b) total road space vs. cycling / pedestrians. Much active travel / “public space” is too narrow of course but that’s not the core problem.
For me it’s 1) UK “multifunctional” roads e.g. confusing a street (place / for people) with a road (for moving motor vehicles) or parking space. 2) Far too much traffic moving too quickly 3) … so some “narrow streets” are now historically “roads” so “there is no space” for cyclists / pedestrians. Tackling that involves the whole network or even bigger “how people travel, when and for what” questions.
In the near term (our lifetimes) we may only be able to get a 2nd rate Copenhagen solution in some ways until we start to get significant traffic reduction and support for change. Although I think a lot of their streets aren’t actually very narrow…
Amazing when people open their eyes and suddenly see e.g. 90%+ of available space has been given over to motor vehicles though!
“No room” makes me think of
“No room” makes me think of Pangbourne, a UK town I’ve visited many times, usually on foot. Even before I was an every day cyclist and learned about good street design, I wondered who the %$*&^* thought that this maybe 0.3 m pavement was an acceptable tradeoff?
https://goo.gl/maps/NdPXcZ1FpUWgqbow8
I recall there being a worse example there, but can’t find it quickly. We once encountered a blind person with a cane edging through like he was on the edge of a cliff. My sister took his arm and helped him through the pinch point.
I’m assuming that at some point there were proper pavements and a narrower roadway, but it “had to be widened” for “traffic.”
A classic. No-one will be
A classic. No-one will be sleeping on the pavements there, they’d fall off!
I blame the houses.
I give you Belmont Road, near
I give you Belmont Road, near Bath. Tiny pavements both sides. This used to be used by primary school children to walk between two sites – when I was there in the 1970s, we had the added joy of that well-known game Dog Shit Slalom.
Edit for better picture, complete with 2 cars parked on the wider 18 inch pavement and hence pedestrians in the road.
All is not lost for G, Sungod
All is not lost for G, Sungod Tempests:
Maybe the Met Office are
Maybe the Met Office are focussing on cyclist and pedestrian danger rather than cars due to the likelihood that the roads have probably been gritted and the pavements and cycle lanes probably haven’t?
It’s actually a subtle hint to councils to grit all transport infrastructure, not just roads?
Shouldn’t the car be shown
Shouldn’t the car be shown sliding into the house?
I’m more concerned that one
I’m more concerned that one of the sliding vehicles on that twitter feed was a Range Rover. I mean – I was under the impression that people bought these big SUVs precisely because they were so much safer in inclement weather and environments.
It did bounce off the kerb and railing quite well, though… 😉
brooksby wrote:
It’s an off-road vehicle, so it was trying to get off the road
It dosn’t matter how many
It dosn’t matter how many wheels are driven if it is sitting on summer tyres!
Yeah, because I’m sure that
Yeah, because I’m sure that all those SUV owners will go to the trouble of changing their tyres when the weather goes bad/cold…
Range rovers are usually
Range rovers are usually supplied with all-season rubber which is not bad in the cold weather, however most seem to replace it with sports tyres when it needs replacing because ???
4×4 allows you to get up to
4×4 allows you to get up to speed, winter tyres allow you to turn and stop. All 4wd does without the appropriate tyres is increase the speed of the inevitable collisions.
Noticable the lights had
Noticable the lights had already changed before he was turning. Probably done the “Martin-Approved” accelerate at the lights to beat them even though conditions should be approach junctions to stop.
The trouble with heavy 4×4’s
The trouble with heavy 4×4’s is as soon as you touch the brakes, they just become an oversized curling stone.
I still recall with glee passing multiple stranded 4×4’s in my battered 1.0l mid-90’s Nissan Micra with its super narrow tyres and front wheel drive, during that bad snow storm of 2007.
Comes down to too many people
Comes down to too many people being too keen on the accelerator and not understanding traction and braking in icy conditions.
Years back I enjoyed watching my neighbour who failed to get his Volvo saloon out, getting stuck in the road with the wheels spinning, then watch me bemused as I drove off in my V6 Alfa. Yes it had a lot of power, but also a lot of low end torque and a heavy engine over the drive wheels. I didn’t touch the accelerator until I was on clear roads and let it drive itself at idle. That was on Michelin Pilot Sports too.
Someone replied to them with
Someone replied to them with this 44 sec gem
https://twitter.com/UB1UB2/status/1602296449177460736
(this is the problem with retweets ! I now see this is the same as the article).
Here’s a top quality effort
Here’s a top quality effort from Monday, I was going to share it then but the gentleman in question blocked me and deleted the video before I got a chance, fortunately someone took a screenshot of it. North end of Vauxhall Bridge, a cabby (clearly using his phone illegally and stopped in the cycle box) on a gritted and snow-free road complains about a miniature snowplough clearing the cycle lane and asks “where are the cyclists?” when there’s one right there.
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Edinb. – a Lay Bah council. A LAAAAAY Bah council.
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Hardly! Laaaaybah minority
Hardly! Laaaaybah minority (13), well behind the SNP (19) but propped up by … the Lib dems and … the CONSERVATIVES!
Alternative view: a UNIONIST council 34 vs. “independence” types (Green + SNP) 29
You could go with “a Lay Bah Convener of Transport and Environment” though.
Mr. Kinnoch was right – sometimes the councils have other things to worry about than the party orthodoxy. Or are just busy furthering their own interests, however you view it.
You’ll need to excuse Flints’
You’ll need to excuse Flints’ ignorance. He probably doesn’t realise there’s a civilised world beyond Watford Gap. I reckon he has a map that states ‘here be dragons’ in beautiful calligraphy just at that point.
Well he definitely is froman
Well he definitely is from an area of Dragons. Trouble is because of that he believes he can only type like someone from the middle ages.
I don’t understand.
I don’t understand.
FB took exception, quite some
FB took exception, quite some time ago, to people criticising Conservative councils and Govt policy, and took it upon themself to post a wacky comment about Labour whenever they are deemed to have done something anti active travel. We all find it hilarious
Yes I can see now why people
Yes I can see now why people would find it hilarious, it gets funnier every time I read it
Hard to know if this is a
Hard to know if this is a subtle comment or a real question.
To add to what brooksby said, the original is by neil kinnock about Liverpool council in the 80s
Ah thankyou. That cultural
Ah thankyou. That cultural reference must have passed me by. Now I know I can see how funny it is. Next time it’s posted I’ll be able to laugh my head off
The other thing
The other thing
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about
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FB
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is
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I think their keyboard
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is
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stuck
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Oh.
Oh.
Now, I didn’t know that!
Now, I didn’t know that!
I remembered the speech but I
I remembered the speech but I didnt realise that that was being emulated in the posts. I thought it was just some juvenile comment. It wasn’t until it came up on here a couple of weeks ago and someone else said oh, thats kinnock’s speech they are doing in an attempt at a welsh accent.
Scott Arthur might like to
Scott Arthur might like to consider whether advertising his complete failure to do his job is a good thing. Ironic? No, just inexcusably dumb.
Failure? Nope, doing his job
Failure? Nope, doing his job – which he clearly sees as removing some of this “infra” – at least for the moment – because of the cries of outrage from quite a few citizens. And something less than cheers from people like me who (thanks to Spokes, the local cycling group) were encouraged to go about the city and actually take a closer look at it.
Despite the council now very much being a minority administration some hopeful noises (and resolutions) appear to be emerging though (see Spokes reports) – but as usual nothing concrete happening.
However at least everyone now knows where they stand. Many people have clearly learned of the existence of cycling and that driving might not continue on exactly as before. Some of us more optimistic types have learned that rather than “supported by the silent majority” the idea of active travel impacting their driving and parking is only just starting to reach many people.