“So assault isn’t assault?”: Reaction to aggressive driver attacking group ride; Suspended HGV driver apologises for “spandex-wearing f******” threat; Near miss interrupts Pogačar interview; Bennett ignores Lefevere; Aldi kit deals + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Tadej Pogačar interview interrupted by reversing driver nearly hitting Tour champ
Kolesarstvo je nevaren šport ⚡️ še ko si v cilju, nisi na varnem 😨😱@TamauPogi 🇸🇮🚴se pa ni zmedel, izjavo izpeljal do konca 👍 pic.twitter.com/hXlswf1YL8
— Igor Tominec (@IgorTominec) September 12, 2021
Even when you’re the Tour de France champion, you have to put up with terrible driving from time to time…Tadej Pogačar found this out while being interviewed after yesterday’s European Championship road race where he finished fifth. The double yellow jersey was speaking to Slovenian radio when the driver got closer, and closer, to the point the reporter had to shout a warning…
Pog was characteristically unruffled, barely pausing his sentence. Igor Tominec, the radio reporter, posted the video on Twitter, with the caption: “Cycling is a dangerous sport. Even when you’re at the finish line, you’re not safe.” Italian police have identified one early suspect in the investigation…
— Niall Quinn (@irishniall941) September 12, 2021
Pogačar was making his reappearance, competing at the European Championships as he begins his late season campaign to Il Lombardia. The 22-year-old has only raced three days since the Olympic Games road race but is expected to compete at next week’s World Championship time trial and road race.
Sam Bennett ignores Patrick Lefevere comments on return to racing
As it turned out, Patrick Lefevere’s suspicions that Sunday’s European Championship road race would be too hard for Sam Bennett turned out to be correct. Although in fairness to the Irishman, only 31 of the 150 starters made it to the finish.
Bennett was asked about his team boss’ furious comments last week after finding out his sprinter was competing behind the team’s back. Bennett distanced himself, saying: “I just want to focus on my race today and try to forget about that and focus on the race.I’m coming back so it will be a hard day today. The first climb will be the first challenge then I’ll take it climb-by-climb after that. I’m looking forward to being back in the mix.”
Last week, Lefevere accused the 2020 green jersey winner of “playing with his balls in public” by competing, and suggested the appearance was a stunt reacting to the Belgian’s threat to cut his pay by 50 per cent. It was the latest example of the Deceuninck-Quick-Step boss making unsavoury comments about his rider…before the Tour de France, Lefevere accused Bennett of being mentally weak. Then, in July, he compared Bennett’s upcoming Borah-Hansgrohe return to a woman returning to an abusive relationship.
Tell that to Tadej Pogačar...
just wanna ride my bike without contemplating my own mortality
— hypebeast coffee truther (@sssabriiiinaaa) September 12, 2021
"So assault isn't assault?": Reaction to aggressive driver attacking group ride
The shit that people going out for a ride on their bikes have to put up with from aggressive ignorant cowards using their cars as weapons. https://t.co/TST24jSSS4
— Paul Campbell (@PauloCampbell) September 12, 2021
That video of a driver assaulting a Swindon Wheelers member and knocking off another rider picked up a lot of attention over the weekend. The motorist became enraged by having to wait a few seconds behind the group riding two abreast, brake checking them before punching ride leader Ady Short as he tried to calmly explain why they ride in that formation.
The reaction has been a mixture of anger and disbelief that the driver was only given a caution for the attack. Questions have also been asked about Ady’s explanation that Wiltshire Police ignored the camera footage of his wife being knocked over as the police “couldn’t actually see her”.
Under our story, the comments rolled in…Shades wondered what’s the point of even bothering carrying a camera…”Camera evidence AND witnesses; only a caution! Next time I’m riding I’ll save the weight and leave the cameras at home; normally if I’m riding with someone else I’ll leave them behind as I’ve (hopefully) got a witness in an incident.”
OldRidgeback summed the whole situation up nicely: “So assault isn’t assault?”
On Twitter, Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Cox commented on the story: “Road rage has appalling traits and is never a good look. How many seconds did waiting to pass safely cost him? Hardly any but his reaction cost time! Glad the headcam proved a deterrent when he spotted it. The assault is a crime but so was his driving, putting other lives at risk.”
@wiltshirepolice Am I correct in saying that if i:
1 drive dangerously,
2 punch someone repeatedly in the face,
3 Drive into a cyclist causing injury,
that I will receive nothing more than a caution?Asking for a friend
— sowerbob – Let’s want something better (@mnogogotin) September 12, 2021
@pwilkinson_pcc Can you please take this up with @wiltshirepolice. A caution for driving dangerously, repeatingly assaulting someone & using your vehicle as a weapon to assault someone is not right.
— James Stafford (@Jamesdestafford) September 12, 2021
We also updated our story with links to contact the office for Wiltshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner due to the extremely strong reaction to the article…
Suspended HGV driver apologises for Facebook comment threatening to knock down "spandex-wearing fuckers"
The suspended White & Co. HGV driver, who last week threatened to knock down “Lycra-clad, spandex-wearing fuckers”, got in touch with a statement apologising for his actions.
Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to you and your members for any offence or fear I have caused by posting this aggressive and uncharacteristic post.
Secondly, I would like to assure everyone that despite what I said… I would NEVER intentionally harm a cyclist or any human being for that matter.
Writing this post was a stupid and thoughtless mistake and I never expected it to go this far. In reality I am a hard working, family man who was momentarily carried away by social media and took things too far.
Not only has this reflected badly on myself, my family and my company, but it has also caused offence to many around the cycling community and community as a whole so once again, I would like to apologise whole heartedly to anyone that has been affected by my actions.
Best wishes to you all
Behind the scenes at the Tour of Britain with Alex Dowsett
Ever wondered what it’s like being on the other side of the TV and actually racing the Tour of Britain? Alex Dowsett’s been kind enough to make a vid for his YouTube channel…something for your lunch break.
Team Jumbo-Visma's youngest recruit steals the show in Scotland
Name a better duo than 🏴 Xander Graham & 🇳🇱 @PascalEenkhoorn..
..We’ll wait! 😄 pic.twitter.com/4o3W8VniIA
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) September 12, 2021
Wout van Aert may have won the final stage of the Tour of Britain to win the race overall, but it was local rider Xander Graham who was the star of the show. The pint-sized youngster caught the TV camera’s attention as he sprinted off up the pavement, putting distance between himself and the breakaway.
As the group passed, Pascal Eenkhoorn handed him a bottle…
The real race we’re here for!
Nicely done, @PascalEenkhoorn 🙌
📺 Watch stage seven live on ITV4#TourOfBritain 🔵⚪🔵 pic.twitter.com/C4G646nZ5I
— AJ Bell Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 (@TourofBritain) September 11, 2021
Xander got the call up to meet with the team in Stonehaven for the start of stage eight and even got a bit of free kit and a tour of the team bus. Great stuff, story of the weekend…
Let us introduce you our fifth rider for today. 😎 pic.twitter.com/FADE2AeJTK
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) September 12, 2021
Your number one stop for all your cycling needs...Aldi?
I’m more of a Lidl man these days, but respect to Aldi too…its famous middle aisle Specialbuys will soon be featuring a host of cycling kit, including base layers for £17.99, £14.99 jackets and gloves for £5.99. Now we just need them to release creatively marketed readily available Shimano-standard (and compatible) components for half the price…
The latest Specialbuys are in store from Sunday and also include some genuinely quite tempting looking deals…Muc-Off for £3.99, GT85 for £1.99…they’ve even got wheel bags and workstands…
Ride food done right...Rally Cycling sample Scotland's finest
Hey Scotland, are we doing this right? 🏴🏴#TourOfBritain pic.twitter.com/U6As3nhw6U
— Rally Cycling (@Rally_Cycling) September 12, 2021
Caramel Wafers are elite ride food. I won’t accept any criticism – 20g of delicious carbs per wafer. Any excuse to eat as many as possible is a strong nutrition strategy.
Vandals rip out bike racks in Cirencester Park
The Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Standard reports vandals pulled out two bike stands from a Cirencester Park last month. The vandalism occurred in the Thistle Park area on Wednesday 18 August between 4.30pm and 4.50pm. Anyone with information is asked to report it to Gloucestershire Police on 101 quoting incident 324 of 18/08/2021.
Primož Roglič to skip World Championship time trial, according to Italian media reports
Olympic gold medallist Primož Roglič will skip the World Championships time trial next week, according to reports from Gazzetta dello Sport. The Italian outlet says sources at the Slovenian federation have confirmed Tadej Pogačar and Jan Tratnik will take the nation’s spots instead.
The 43.4 kilometres course, ending in Bruges, is flat and will favour the powerhouses. Home favourites Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel have already confirmed their participation. Newly crowned European champ Stefan Küng and defending champion Filippo Ganna are likely to be two of the big favourites for the rainbow jersey.
Cycling holiday to Chernobyl, anyone?
35 years after the world’s worst nuclear disaster, a new type of tourism is becoming popular in Chernobyl’s 30km Exclusion Zone. Cyclists can take tours of the site’s “scenic routes” near to where the explosion ripped through the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Euro News reports 123,403 people visited the Exclusion Zone in 2019, it’s unknown how many of these were taking cycle tours. All riders are checked for radiation levels before they leave the site.
In April, Ukraine marked the 35th anniversary of the disaster by applying for the site to be a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
CyclingMikey teases another classic Gandalf Corner encounter
16 minutes and 45 seconds encounter at Gandalf Corner last week. Aggressive pushy driver called the police, and she was absolutely incensed that they told her to reverse after she said she was in the oncoming traffic lane. Just cutting the video for police report now.
— CyclingMikey tired of road crime. 🇪🇺🇳🇱🇿🇼 (@MikeyCycling) September 13, 2021
Netflix and Amazon should be battling for the rights to this…
13 September 2021, 08:05
13 September 2021, 08:05
13 September 2021, 08:05
13 September 2021, 08:05
13 September 2021, 08:05
The original article has now been updated with a response from Wiltshire Police
Cyclist punched repeatedly in the head by aggressive driver furious that group were riding two abreast
The motorist, who also crashed into another cyclist during the assault leaving her with cuts and bruises, escaped with a caution...
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Latest Comments
@DrG82 is a liar. First off, who here said they got everything right? "I wouldn’t say that the Welsh government got everything right." The article contains commentary saying they didn't get everything right. I suppose saying something obviously true sets you up to lie later... "They applied the speed limit changes uniformly, without considering exceptions" You are a liar. The Welsh Government guidance contained rules that would allow councils to exempt roads from 20mph. As an example, much of my route into town stayed at 30 and 40mph because my council bothered to apply the exemptions. I particularly enjoyed your unsupported claim of "This has been a massive waste of money". The article states "collisions involving all road users on 20mph and 30mph are down 37 per cent, with casualties dropping by 35 per cent". I'd say a one-off cost of changing road signs for a permanent 1/3rd reduction in collisions is gonna save the taxpayer a chunk of healthcare costs and owners and businesses a chunk of money not fixing car bodywork. Nothing but contempt for you. Take your lies elsewhere.
With so many people using and looking at mobie phones whilst driving and other distractions, may I suggest you always wear Hi viz and stay at home.
The design of the "car" has played a role in this. SUVs and what the Americans call "trucks" are exempt from the pedestrian safety regulations which apply to passenger cars. Had the victim been hit by a car designed in the past twenty years he would have been "scooped" onto the bonnet and either over the roof or off to one side. Still a serious injury risk and potentially fatal but they have the benefit of those passive safety systems to improve their chances. With vehicles with such a high bonnet line as this Volvo has what tends to happen is the person bounces off the bonnet and falls on the road in front of the vehicle where they're then run over. This has happened time and time again and is becoming more of an issue as the numbers of vehicles exempt from the safety standards grows.
@Accessibility for all Reducing the speeds wouldn't have helped in this case as the driver was reported doing 65 in a 40 zone on the approach to the junction, his driving described by the witnesses as erratic and evidently had no intention to stop to give way even though he had been warned by the passenger who apparently shouted "bike" three times just before the collision. He would have likely flown through that junction even if it was traffic light controlled with a red light for him at the time. In my own experience the entire area i.e. east of Lymm towards Warburton and along Dunham Road all the way up to Altrincham and past into Hale Barns, all those wealthy, posh settlements around Manchester Airport are best avoided by road cyclists. A disproportionally high number of psycho drivers must for some reason live in that area because every single time I went there on my road bike in the past, I either got harassed myself or witnessed proper dickhead driving - speeding, close passes, overtaking into oncoming traffic or round a blind bend, accelerating towards pedestrians already crossing the road, you name it. I gave up road cycling in that area years ago and only use the local TPT these days.
In respect of the murder charge: based on him hitting Mr Mullins and making no attempt to help him (this killing him), how would the case compare to a hit and run driver who seriously injures or kills a cyclist, knowingly, and flees the scene without helping? Would this make the cut for a murder charge? Or is there something very different going on here that I’m missing? Genuinely curious because I don’t recall there being a murder charge before for this kind of thing unless it was premeditated. In fact, in my experience most cases like this seem to go the opposite way - where the driver can merely say the sun was in their eyes and get away with a slap on the hands.
@Rendel Harris...and there was me dishing out the praise!
@polainm He must also be an already hardened criminal. It wasn't mentioned during the court proceedings to avoid influencing the jurors and ensuring he had a fair trial, but he had been released from prison shortly before this incident and was couch surfing at his cousin's house days before. Just look at his face, he's only 35, but looks older than his victim who was 56. Must have spent half his adult life in prison.
@jaymack They did offer him manslaughter though but he declined to plead guilty. Without wanting to seem curmudgeonly, yes great that they preferred the most serious charges but hard to see how they could have done differently considering that Richardson got out of the car, saw Mr Mullins was stuck underneath and then got back in and carried on. That clearly moved it above anything that falls under death by dangerous driving.
@thrawed Agree - the UK winters are utterly grim; grey, wet & windy. Not the type of weather you really want to go out and ride. Everything get covered in filth, and takes time to clean it after a ride. Oh for colder, drier & crisper days which can be enjoyable to be out in.
@ymm In my view, lax sentencing of dangerous drivers, especially where cyclists are involved, makes the judge, jury and CPS complicit in UK driver culture. This driver is a sociopath.
20 thoughts on ““So assault isn’t assault?”: Reaction to aggressive driver attacking group ride; Suspended HGV driver apologises for “spandex-wearing f******” threat; Near miss interrupts Pogačar interview; Bennett ignores Lefevere; Aldi kit deals + more on the live blog”
I presume that prior to
I presume that prior to signing with D-Q that everyone considers what happens if/when they get on the wrong side of Patrick Lefevere.
He seems a bit of an outspoken arse. I can only presume that Professional cycling contracts are structured such that constructive dismissal doesn’t apply.
Not convinced Sam Bennett is an innocent party in all this but Lefevere putting all this public should be charged with bringing the sport into disrepute. There is no need for it.
Quote:
Oh really. So how far is just right? What was it you actually meant?
I rather suspect he meant
I rather suspect he meant every word. Until it turned out that his threats to kill might cost him his job.
Morgoth985 wrote:
Quite. How amazing is it that as he’s realising that threats to harm others can have serious consequences, that he’s apologising! In my opinion this is all about his own self preservation, rather than anything actually sincere.
Quote:
Fixed it! 😀
With the current driver
With the current driver shortages, he’s probably fine getting another job and I suspect he’ll have kept his by agreeing to apologise.
I just hope his driving is better than his social media savvy.
Sounds like you’re letting
Sounds like you’re letting him off with a caution.
“Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to say that Jenny from HR is making me write this…”
If by Jenny from HR you mean
If by Jenny from HR you mean his spouse who has likely given him an ear-melting lecture for being so stupid to risk his livelihood by telling the world how he thinks, you may be right…
It does at the least come
It does at the least come across as something he wrote himself, not something prepped by HR or other.
Whether genuine – only he can know that I guess.
But whether it is or not, I rather doubt he’ll be anything but extremely cautious in his driving for a while – and that at least is a big plus.
For those without a team car,
For those without a team car, a Tunnocks Caramel Wafer spending 2 hours in your back pocket is going to be a melted chocolatey mess.
What next a nice Tunnocks Tea Cake, that will be quite delightful having reached the top of Bealach-Na-Ba.
(Please note I enjoy both with a nice cuppa)
Chocolatey mess I can cope
Chocolatey mess I can cope with it’s still got a wrapper, I had a banana 90% liquify itself in between the time I put it in my jersey pocket and when I came to want to eat it.
Another food stuff I love but
Another food stuff I love but avoid on the bike. I have a friend who eats half the banana and puts it back in his jersey pocket for later. I have tried and it is awful just becomes sticky and slimey.
I makes me shudder just thinking about it.
The wrapper isn’t sealed
The wrapper isn’t sealed though, it’s an old-school folded paper wrapper, not a plastic welded thing.
All of Tunnocks range (and Lees for that matter) should go in the Caradice, not a jersey pocket.
Is it me, but those
Is it me, but those Cirencester bike racks don’t look to have been very securely – er – secured?
Agreed. Im begining to
Agreed. Im begining to wonder if was the local bike club appalled by how poor they were.
Alternatively given Ciren is just north of Swindon the driver of a certain Black Nissan Juke may have taken a swing at them in passing.
I wouldnot be surprised if
I would not be surprised if that was metal theft rather than vandalism, considering they are no where to be seen in the picture. Vandalism would probalby see them flat on the ground.
And as you say not the deepest of footings, and a fairly clean extraction. If you rock a concreted post out of the ground it will make a mess of the surrounding turf.
Metal theft was my take. I
Metal theft was my take. I saw someone wheel barrowing away one of the barriers used to coral pedestrians at a dual carriageway ped crossing once to sell for a bit of cash.
Although not an available in
Although not an available in store item, I’d have thought most might be more interested in Aldis Bikemate camera and front light for £99.99
I thought about that but it’s
I thought about that but it’s only got an IP44 rating, so one wet ride and it’s knackered
It appears it may have you
It appears it may have you cycling under the influence though.