“Say goodbye to sunglasses in road races”: Cycling world reacts to Alberto Bettiol’s ultra-aero solo victory in TT helmet with visor; Van Aert’s monstrous training ride; Does your bike have a bottom bracket garden? + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Next stop, the moon": Wout van Aert climbs 5,000m in monstrous seven-hour training ride up Mount Teide in search of classics glory
Admittedly not what most people go to Tenerife to do, but when you’ve got a Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roiubaix to train for, it doesn’t leave much time for cheap drinks and sunbathing. Just the SEVEN hours and 5,000m of ascent for Wout van Aert yesterday…
A touch over seven hours of work and an hour’s break, welcome to the real world, Wout, join the 9 to 5 club. The Belgian classics hope is taking a slightly different approach to the spring one-day races this year, skipping Strade Bianche and Milan San-Remo, as well as whichever of the WorldTour stage races he would have picked last week, heading to altitude instead in the hope of optimising his preparation to break his Flanders/Roubaix duck.
Up the volcano with him are teammates Tiesj Benoot and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad victor Jan Tratnik, Visma-Lease a Bike classics stalwart Benoot calling the decision a “small calculated risk […] thinking a bit out of the box”.
A small calculated risk, much like hitting 91km/h on a descent… that eye-watering top speed standing out from Van Aert’s Strava upload. As does the 28km/h average speed. Snail’s pace for the pros, but there’ll be more than a few flat rides on my Strava slower than that. Slower and without traversing a giant volcano multiple times…
We enjoyed Gareth Kerr’s comment under the ride praising Wout for his “Good Fred Whitton training”.
“Hey, Wout… if that Giro d’Italia thing you’re doing in May doesn’t work, just come to the Lake District instead… there’s a little event with a few small hills… you’ll love it, I promise…”
Meanwhile in France...
It’s not just Wout racking up the climbing, Remco Evenepoel’s post-Paris-Nice recon of this summer’s Tour de France route is well underway. The Soudal Quick-Step rider making his Tour debut this summer took a look at the final stage time trial in Nice earlier in the week (I mean, you might as well if you’ve just finished… Paris-Nice…) and has now headed north to the mountains.
From spring on the French Riviera to the wintery mountain peaks in the space of two days. Click right to the photo for some hard as nails winter shorts-wearing content.
Councillor claims cycle lanes are a "waste of money"... despite support from 76% of residents
A councillor in Limerick in Ireland has disagreed her residents, claiming that the area’s newly built cycle lanes are a “complete waste of money” and are causing “traffic chaos”, that despite a National Transport Authority (NTA) survey showing that 76 per cent of residents support the building of protected cycle lanes even if it means less room for motorists.
The Limerick Post published Catherine Slattery’s comments, Fianna Fáil councillor saying: “I pass up and down the Childers Road a couple of times a day, I’d say twice a week you’d see someone biking it. It’s a complete waste of money, people aren’t using it. What should have happened there is that they should have moved back the footpath and put the cycle lane on the footpath. All they’ve done on the Childers Road is cause traffic chaos in the mornings.”
> Cycle lane branded a “s*** show” by local politician furious at reduced width of road
However, the NTA survey found that 52 per cent of residents walk, cycle or wheel at least five times a week, with the majority keen for more investment in walking and cycling infrastructure (61 per cent).
Slattery claims she supports cycle lanes being built, but only in “suitable” locations.
“If they’re going to put in cycle lanes, do it right, connect the housing estates and stuff like that to these cycle lanes. But certainly I feel that the cycle lanes on the Childers Road were a total waste of money, and the same on the Hyde Road, a total waste of money in my view,” she said.
There was then an interesting update from IrishCycle.com who dug up a Facebook post from Slattery’s account from 2020, in which she said she was “delighted” with the traffic-calming project on Hyde Road and listed “segregated cycleways on both sides” as part of the scheme.
However, now she claims the cycle lanes were only added “once the scheme started”, distancing her support from the bike lanes she now opposes.
It’s not the first time Slattery’s cycling comments have come to our attention. In December, she seconded a proposal for hi-vis for cyclists to be mandatory, saying it is a “timely motion” in the run up to Christmas.
The bottom bracket garden — a winter cycling classic
Are you even really cycling in winter if you don’t have a bottom bracket garden!? pic.twitter.com/RVwl6YvDak
— Will Columbine (@willcolumbine) March 13, 2024
Cobbles and an Italian one-day race to test the sprinters — it's classics time
Three races to keep an eye on today, one in Italy and a couple in Belgium, it’s that time of year. In Italy, some Milan San-Remo hopefuls will be testing their legs at Milano-Torino. With a couple of small, but not insignificant, lumps towards the finish it could be a sprint or a late attack could steal the day. That all sounds very familiar considering what’s on the menu this Saturday…
🏳️ Ready for the oldest classic in cycling? #MilanoTorino pic.twitter.com/QNrDuvNh8M
— Milano-Torino (@MiTo1876) March 13, 2024
Oh, and did we mention a certain Mark Cavendish is in attendance with his lead-out duo of Cees Bol and Michael Mørkøv? In Belgium it’s Nokere Koerse day, which means one thing — cobbles! The women have around 90km to go and then the men’s race will follow. Plenty to keep you entertained throughout the day.
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Lotte Kopecky dominates Nokere Koerse
Ominous Lotte Kopecky form as we enter the classics campaign…
Cycling superstar Lotte Kopecky wins yet another bike race #NokereKoerse pic.twitter.com/bCD0OPRmqO
— Eemeli (@LosBrolin) March 13, 2024
An SD Worx 1-2 as well. How many times will we say that this year? The Belgian had crashed early on, but all that seemed to do was add motivation as she’d soon attacked, Tadej Pogačar style, around the halfway mark, before settling down and deciding to wait for the final stages, attacking on the cobbles to win by 17 seconds from teammate Lorena Wiebes in second.
Ribble Cycles halves losses to £2.3m as bike brand says "very positive step" result of better delivery times and restructuring
Tim Merlier defends Nokere Koerse crown
While we already touched on Lotte Kopecky taking her second Nokere Koerse victory in as many years earlier, Tim Merlier went one better this afternoon, bagging his third in a row. Less attacking flair from the men’s champion, more destructive sprinting dominance…
🥇 2022
🥇 2023
🥇 2024Tim Merlier makes it 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤-𝐭𝐨-𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤-𝐭𝐨-𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 wins at Nokere Koerse 🙌 pic.twitter.com/nPIgy0HN1N
— Eurosport (@eurosport) March 13, 2024
Star of the show however went to the mystery course crosser who narrowly avoided disaster on his way to Lidl. Tell us you’re in Belgium without telling us you’re in Belgium…
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) March 13, 2024
"Say goodbye to sunglasses in road races": Cycling world reacts to Alberto Bettiol's ultra-aero solo victory in TT helmet with visor
Anyone fancy a sweepstake on how long until the UCI statement drops?
The EF Pro Cyling aero package brought to you by Cannondale. Rapha. Poc. Wahoo. and Amacx. 💪
Attack brought to you by Alberto Bettiol 😏#MilanoTorino #AlbertoBettiol pic.twitter.com/hcnxW5Do9b
— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) March 13, 2024
Alberto Bettiol, EF-Education EasyPost and all their kit sponsors (that of course get a shout-out in the team’s post above) have pulled off a superb solo victory at Milano-Torino, the Italian firing off the front at the top of a climb before using all his aero nous to see him home.
👀 The ultimo kilometro of a breathtaking ride by @AlbertoBettiol, to claim the oldest classic in cycling#MilanoTorino | #piemontesport l #viviiltuosport | @Livigno pic.twitter.com/eXAq4p9rE9
— Milano-Torino (@MiTo1876) March 13, 2024
Surprise surprise, this is cycling after all, almost all the post-race talk has been about Bettiol’s kit choice… skinsuit, pretty normal in road races these days… TT helmet, less so… TT helmet with full visor and no sunglasses, genius or a crime against the sport (depending who you ask). To be fair, TT helmet with visor AND shades would be the real crime…
BAN THIS!
— Simon Warren (@100Climbs) March 13, 2024
The clue really should have been there for all to see, hardly like he’s gonna tap around at the back of the peloton in that get up…
Mohoric using a dropper post, knowing exactly what he was going to do
🤝
Bettiol wearing full aero kit, knowing exactly what he was going to do#MilanoTorino pic.twitter.com/3o1DuS88l4— Dan Deakins (@DanDeakins) March 13, 2024
Then again, if you can attack like that, it’s one thing knowing he’s going to… another thing entirely being able to follow.
🔥 A huge attack from @AlbertoBettiol near the summit, and the former Ronde van Vlaanderen winner has a 24″ lead over the peloton! #MilanoTorino | #piemontesport l #viviiltuosport pic.twitter.com/9kG5OQWDqQ
— Milano-Torino (@MiTo1876) March 13, 2024
Got any plans in the San Remo area on Saturday afternoon, Alberto?
Last week, the UCI said it would be reviewing its design rules in light of Team Visma-Lease a Bike debuting an eye-catching Giro TT helmet at Tirreno-Adriatico.
The governing body said the use of “ever more radical designs […] raises a significant issue concerning the current and wider trend in time trial helmet design, which focuses more on performance than the primary function of a helmet, namely to ensure the safety of the wearer in the event of a fall”.
> Is Jonas Vingegaard’s latest time trial helmet one step too far?
The whole situation prompted plenty of frustration at Visma-Lease a Bike, the team saying it had spent plenty of time and resources producing the helmet within the UCI’s rules. The team’s performance manager Mathieu Heijboer said the respone had been “driven by emotions and all the reactions on social media”.
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Latest Comments
@chrisonabike True, things went back to normal once the pandemic was over. In this case, however the problems are still ongoing, and aren't likely to be resolved in the near future. If anything, they're going to get worse. Food shortages are predicted because of the effect that the heatwave has had on crops. This is bound to push prices up. The Straits of Hormuz aren't likely to reopen anytime soon and the strategic oil reserves are running low. Russia is having to import petrol because its own refineries have been badly hit, so that's even more competition for an even more scarce resource. I think that more and more people are going to see cycling as a way of cutting household bills.
I think if "grown up" cyclists * are quibbling about ASLs we've very much missed the road safety point anyway. (Not to mention the wider "better transport choices" picture). ASLs are poor-to-useless "cycling infra", even for their design intent. If the idea is "for less confident cyclists" then a design that requires that you re-position in front of the motor traffic - waiting to accelerate - seems unhelpful. Of course they're only designed to help when traffic is stopped, and you can reach the front in time and if vehicles aren't already occupying them. As we're noting here drivers frequently ignore them - whether that be deliberate, a lack of road craft, because they were concentrating on following the vehicle in front, or because the paint has rubbed off. * Aside: shouldn't cycling also be safe and accessible for kids? Or should they only be allowed to do this when accompanied by sufficient qualified adults? Or be limited to parks and otherwise being driven around by their carers? Perhaps there is another way...?
Hi Bungle, I saw you follow-up comment. I can't imaging there's a tolerance of 4 seconds on camera enforced lights, seems an odd decision - an offence is committed if a vehicle starts crossing on a red, any tolerance is discretionary. There does seem to be some odd thinking about 'advanced stop lines' where the rules relating to them are identical to a regular stop line, as explained correctly elsewhere in the Highway Code. It does seem a regular offence. Where I live it doesn't help that some of them are very faint and disappear in rain.
@ktache Not sure he's totally ruled out of the worlds yet (though I think it would be best if he doesn't), normal recovery time is about eight weeks but surgery can halve that...depending on the nature of the break he could be just about fit to ride by the time of the elite men's race, but he'll have missed a lot of training. Hopefully his managers and team will persuade him to wait until Lombardia, if not just to knock it off for the rest of the year.
@Bungle_52 The Met told me a couple of years ago when rejecting a submission that they needed a clear three seconds of red visible before they would consider it for an RLJ prosecution. I pointed out to them that this meant that at 30 mph a driver could see a light change to red from 40 metres away and still get through without sanction, or 55 m if they accelerated to 40 as most do. They just replied "them's our rules..."
@Ben Graham I have just checked the footage from my report. The driver crosses the 1st stop line 4 seconds after the light turns red. All on camera from behind the vehicle. No further action. So I assume the margin is at least 4 seconds.
Oh, and active travel funding per head (in England at least) is laughable compared to other places. Plus it is delivered intermittently. It's more like a Blue Peter contest...
Yup, I see those opportunities being missed all the time in Edinburgh. When it gets really bad, dig it all up and put it back down again how it was. Contrast with what seems to happen in NL - when things are dug up the whole thing seems to get a "let's redo this according to the current standards" treatment. They even coordinate with the utilities, so that after a refurb the street isn't immediately dug up again because of leaking pipes / we suddenly realised the new estate being planned for round the corner will want broadband etc. Pros and cons of course - you may wait longer there for changes as smaller changes may be deferred until a major redo is due. (Though in the UK case you likely wouldn't get them at all...) It seems we "can't have nice things" in the UK in part because a) we have greater motor traffic speeds/volumes spead across "streets" / within urban areas b) the funding and organisational responsibility differs. Are we in the "Sam Vimes boots" territory (being too poor to afford better products which not only save money over time but actually work)? There is long term money pressure on LAs and it seems that due to poor construction and maintenance we have to regularly pour money into (pot-)holes in the road. And it seems there's no budget to check up on or enforce adequate standards from utilities work or even private building.
Shame about the world champs defence. Speedy recovery. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/aug/30/tadej-pogacar-vuelta-a-espana-cycling-crash-hospital-stage-nine
I believe the accepted form for this kind of argument is "I know you are, you said you were, but what am I?".
41 thoughts on ““Say goodbye to sunglasses in road races”: Cycling world reacts to Alberto Bettiol’s ultra-aero solo victory in TT helmet with visor; Van Aert’s monstrous training ride; Does your bike have a bottom bracket garden? + more on the live blog”
The traffic system is bad,
The traffic system is bad, but insurers are worse yet. End capitalism now.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/lifeandstyle
marmotte27 wrote:
I’m onboard with that, but we can also do a lot to diminish traffic danger in the meantime. Effective policing would be a start and ensuring that the worst drivers are prevented from being in control of heavy machinery. It’s bizarre that we routinely have heavy trucks and cyclists sharing the same road space when the trucks are known to have blind spots and are arguably not fit for use on public roads.
What we could do with is a robust safety culture if we’re going to be serious about Vision Zero
Good – but Sustainable Safety
Good – but Sustainable Safety, please! [1] [2] [3].
Differences? The charity Brake in the UK say:
The Dutch safety organisation SWOV have some fact sheets comparing the Dutch approach with others e.g.:
* More freedom and convenience for all to travel safely, not just those in motorised transport. Nicer public spaces (“places”).
chrisonabike wrote:
To be honest, I’ve always thought that Vision Zero was just a target rather than a methodology
For a while I thought it was
For a while I thought it was just a slogan!
I hadn’t realised it originated in Sweden until I dug out that SWOV doc.
I favour the Dutch one simply because:
For a while I thought it was
For a while I thought it was just a slogan! It is, really, in the UK as we know that the great majority of police officers just laugh at it as they bin and NFA video reports of offences against cyclists
There’s a timely repetition of that slogan on the Raspberry Pi website today:
They are working on the Vision Zero campaign [with the eventual aim of zero deaths for pedestrians and cyclists]
They’re publicising, and advertising in a way, yet another device to ‘warn cyclists’ about drivers coming from behind which are unconcerned about the possibility of killing a cyclist (except this one has ‘AI’!). I can’t see how it’s going to help when many UK attacks are like this and the police (Lancashire) will just ignore any report about cyclists, or (Essex) will say it wasn’t a close pass because the cyclist didn’t ‘wobble or brake’ or (Scotland) just discard the report because the driver ‘didn’t remember the incident. Interestingly, there is as yet only 1 comment on the RPi news piece, which appears to be from the type of troll we get here: somebody essentially blaming cyclists for what happens to them while pretending to be ‘a cyclist himself’
And they said it would be
And they said it would be great to be able to get any kind of data that’s specific to cycling before the legislation is passed to say we need to give cyclists three feet of space when passing.” Post-legislation data can then be analysed to see how it has affected driver behaviour
I missed this in the original description of this new super-AI radar-beating video camera which puts graphics on the video to show dangerous driving behaviour- for the police to ignore. There’s not going to be any such legislation either in the US or here, and the police wouldn’t enforce it if there was. We know that the worthless ‘advice’ in the Highway Code is ignored by the type of driver who is going to hit you, so there isn’t going to be any ‘effect on driver behaviour’!
hawkinspeter wrote:
Health and safety – noooooooooo aaaargh
Mr Hoopdriver wrote:
Health and safety – noooooooooo aaaargh— hawkinspeter
To be fair, 9 out of 10 things blamed on “Health and Safety gone mad” are just excuses made up by people. e.g. We can’t let you cycle through our car park due to H&S
There used to be a section on
There used to be a section on the HSE website devoted to myths but they stopped it in 2021.
The page is no longer there but there are myths in various sections
https://www.hse.gov.uk/services/localgovernment/sensible-risk/because-of-health-and-safety.htm
They tried to ban certain shoes in my wife’s office and she was pleased to note at the time that this was one of the specific myths quoted !
Have you any idea how many
Have you any idea how many accidents are caused by trousers? Ergo it’s safety kilts from now on!
chrisonabike wrote:
I should have taken my own
I should have taken my own advice! Not 10 minutes after I wrote that I managed to tangle a toe in the bottom of the opposite trouser leg and trip over. No damage apart from a bowl of soup up the wall though!
chrisonabike wrote:
I had two bowls of alphabet soup the other night. I had quite the vowel movement the following morning
chrisonabike wrote:
Are bell bottoms back?
It seems I’ve got skinny
It seems I’ve got skinny ankles but monkey toes. Unfortunately cycling-wise that still doesn’t make me a decent climber.
Looking at the Strava map, it
Looking at the Strava map, it doesn’t look like he actually rode up Teide itself. I think he’d struggle to do that on a road bike (or any bike for that matter).
Quote:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/mar/13/lost-leg-after-being-crushed-by-lorry-victoria-lebrec
Those tipper trucks are the
Those tipper trucks are the worst.
Along with bendy buses, I won’t go anywhere near them. Although I did get a close pass once and it was horrible (nfa too).
It isn’t just the physics
It isn’t just the physics/engineering/blindspots that make tipper trucks the worst. It is also the deeply cowboy nature of the industry, payments by load, freelance drivers, contractors not checking the driving history of drivers, and a lot more. They could have all the extra mirrors and padding you like, and they would still be deathtraps.
You don’t need a tipper truck
You don’t need a tipper truck or a cowboy industry.
Last Friday a woman was hit by a speeding driver in a hatchback on a minor road near Oswestry while walking her dog. She had to be airlifted to Stoke with serious injuries and has apparently had to have one leg amputated.
I hesitated before ‘liking’
I hesitated before ‘liking’ because it looks as if I’m having a good laugh over the tragedy. A disaster could be inflicted on any of us at any time when we’re on or near the roads, because the ‘legal system’ (you know who I mean!) takes a very lenient view of drivers inflicting injuries on just about anyone (with the possible exception of child pedestrians) using a vehicle as the weapon.
It’s not as simple as
It’s not as simple as leniency in the legal system. It’s the whole cultural symbolism of cars and driving that has been continuously promoted for many decades through advertising and motorsport. The widespread use of motorsport, including on TV, and the glamourising of speed and the desirability of having the road to oneself as we see in the adverts seem to be the primary things that drive this behaviour, not that a judge will ‘let you off’.
You can fine, ban and even imprison drivers as much you want but it won’t stop other drivers deliberately breaking the law, driving recklessly and putting road users at risk.
Does Catherine Slattery look
Does Catherine Slattery look at pavements that are often empty or usually not chock full of pedestrians and think they should be removed too?
And bus lanes…?
And the inside lane on
And the inside lane on motorways.
And railway lines.
Maybe if the councillor
Maybe if the councillor “passed up and down the Childers road, a couple of times a day” by bike, they’d not only be contributing towards reduction of the congestion, but also increase the amount of cyclists, thereby making it less of a waste of money.
If only we could make councillors better value for (our) money…
It is difficult to know what
It is difficult to know what the councillor is complaining about. I had a look on Google maps and at different points in the road you get before and after images. Before it was a two lane road (one lane each way) with very wide lanes. Now it is a two lane road but with narrower lanes and the space saved has been used for a bidirectional cycle path. I cannot see how anything has been changed for motorists.
Slattery is living proof that
Slattery is living proof that re-branded dimwitted Tories propagate like invasive weeds
I was going to clean up my BB
I was going to clean up my BB garden but the mole who lives there told me that it is now officially a nature Reserve ?
Please – can nobody else
Please – can nobody else encourage WvA to take on the Fred Whitton? It’s depressing enough watching the semi-pro’s start an hour after you but still finish well before you without having him treat it as a ‘decent training ride’.
Given that my jaunt round the
Given that my jaunt round the FW last year logged me 180km/3580m, would WvA even consider that ‘decent’, training-wise? He might want something more challenging.
Re: Limerick
Re: Limerick
There once was a cyclist named Cole
Who did World Naked Bike Day extoll
But his saddle was conceived
Certain pressure to relieve
And certain parts became lodged in the hole.
“Bottom bracket garden”
“Bottom bracket garden”
Many years ago when I did my
Many years ago when I did my Cytech, one of the first things the instructor told us was to always wear gloves when working on a cycle and to wash our hands regularly. He then listed the potential germs and contaminants on a bike. All that ‘mud’ on the BB – what exactly is it?
(No subject)
I wonder how many watts that
I wonder how many watts that POC helmet saves, the fact they don’t mention a specific wattage on the product website says to me that the answer is “not enough to be meaningful”
“Saves 10w at 30mph compared to a standard road helmet with sunglasses” would be a claim you would definitely make if you could.
Maybe it’s because no one in
Maybe it’s because no one in their right mind gives a fuck?
I mean… anyone who is a
I mean… anyone who is a competitive racer gives a fuck and that’s the only people who would be considering buying an aero helmet so I am not sure your point here.
Is it just “This product doesn’t interest me and I don’t understand that other people are whole humans with their own lives not just NPC’s in a videogame.”
marmotte27 wrote:
Bit harsh. I’d wear that on the track
“Are you even really cycling
“Are you even really cycling in winter if you don’t have a bottom bracket garden!?”
Ewwww…
I’ve got long mudguards and ditto flap.
Usual cut and paste comments.
Usual cut and paste comments….apparently red light jumping cyclists stop the flow of traffic..
https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/new-images-show-how-hull-9163624?utm_source=linkCopy&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar