"Try listening to those who take bikes on trains": Vertical cycle storage design concept criticised; How bikes on trains should be done; Virgin Galactic admits Branson's pre-flight bike ride didn't happen; Expensive fan; Sir Cav? + more on the live blog

💚 Green jersey 🇮🇲🇬🇧 @MarkCavendish has arrived within the time-limit in the gruppetto.

💚 Le maillot vert 🇮🇲🇬🇧 @MarkCavendish est arrivé dans les délais.#TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/yzQDfzYSwi

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 14, 2021

One more big mountain stage tomorrow, a flat (ish) stage that could be a sprint or a breakaway day and a TT are all that stands between Mark Cavendish and Paris. The green jersey came home with his Deceuninck-Quick-Step teammates, Michal Kwiatkowski and Greg van Avermaet in the grupetto. 

Tomorrow the peloton takes on the legendary Pyrenean double: Tourmalet and Luz Ardiden...

. @ScotRail ‘s new Highland Explorer Carriages mean that as of NEXT WEEK families, adaptive bike users, bikepackers and day trippers alike can all escape Glasgow and explore our incredible west coast in a sustainable and healthy way. #LetsDoNetZero https://t.co/G23gCbVSSX pic.twitter.com/gzkvgsCWkh

— lee craigie (@leecraigie_) July 14, 2021

These new carriages have space for 20 bikes and are available for riders to book. They also have seating areas adjacent plus Wi-Fi and power sockets.

Our #HighlandExplorer train is on the move. We're delighted to welcome @scotgov Minister for Transport Graeme Day, @leecraigie_, and @SustransScot on board. pic.twitter.com/KgXw8cKA8J

— ScotRail (@ScotRail) July 14, 2021

I'm old enough to remember the halcyon days of the BR guard's van. Loads of room for our tandem. It did have to lean against a sack-cloth covered coffin on a trip from London to Devon though.
I don't think that joint cycle/human facilities are the answer, whatever orientation.

— David (@Jockunstrapped) July 14, 2021

Some of your comments about today's big live blog story...

eburtthebike wrote: "Just like transport itself, designing for bicycles has a multitude of people with no knowledge, experience or qualifications coming up with genius ideas which fall at the first hurdle.  All the comments on that Proteus cycle parking are accurate, and the design has so many drawbacks that it would instantly be discarded in any country where cycling is mainstream."

OnYerBike added: "There's a lot of advice out there on what makes good bike parking. Bike spaces on a train should follow the exact same principals - just inside a carriage rather than inside (or outside) a building. I guess this goes without saying, but another major obstacle to taking a bike on a train is the booking process. Every different operator has their own system, and (as far as I can tell) none of those systems are at all good."

Over on Facebook, Peter Burgess commented: "Not much good if your bike has mudguards (as my commuter bike does). Really time that train companies put two and two together and encouraged journeys by bike and train. It's more or less possible to get anywhere in the UK quite easily if a combination of the two is used."

This mysteriously unnamed Bora-Hansgrohe rider's core body temperature data has been sent to us and shows they spent almost three hours in the range 38-38.5ºC, the level normally associated with fever. We're assuming it's Patrick Konrad as he won the stage but are awaiting confirmation. According to Core Body Temp, high-intensity sports like cycling are healthier as the core body temperature increase triggers the body's defence mechanism where the heat wards of bacteria.

The graph shows how the rider's core body temperature plummeted at the top of each of the mountain passes as the exertion eased off, combined with cooling effect of descending and altitude. However, Core Body Temp notes that the decline was managed carefully through the rider being given extra layers for the descents and shows Bora-Hansgrohe nailed their support.

Have @Rossobus warned drivers to look out for lanky blokes with camera signs on their bikes? I moaned about a #ClosePass last week and they promised to do something… Look at this from this morning. Waited behind until it was safe to pass. Driver got a big thumbs up and a wave pic.twitter.com/XmLYEwVi2X

— PassPixi (@PassPixi) July 14, 2021

1/ Today's Tour de France stage is a mountain-top finish at Col de Portet. At 2215 metres it's 100 metres higher than nearby Col du Tourmalet. This it's 2nd Tour appearance. It was paved for its 2018 Tour debut. It was gravel when I visited. #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/SYfLaSPLVG

— cyclingchallenge (@cyclingalps) July 14, 2021

The road may now be paved but it's still an epic climb to finish stage 17. Chris Froome is one rider who will have bad memories of Col du Portet. This was the climb where, in 2018, he dropped 48 seconds to teammate Geraint Thomas, fell to third on GC and pledged his support to G. Nairo Quintana was the winner that day, while Dan Martin took second.

Today's stage got underway half an hour ago...Lukas Pöstlberger, Anthony Perez, Danny van Poppel and Dorian Godon are at the head of the race. As it's Bastille Day and with the words of their sports directors probably still ringing in their ears, Anthony Turgis, Maxime Chevalier and Julien Bernard are giving chase behind.

It’s a beautiful day to go to space. We’ve arrived at @Spaceport_NM. Get ready to watch LIVE at 7:30 am PT | 10:30 am ET | 3:30 pm BST https://t.co/PcvGTmA661 #Unity22 pic.twitter.com/4KjGPpjz0M

— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 11, 2021

Virgin Galactic has admitted Richard Branson's pre-flight spin to the space flight launch site, which was shown in a widely-shared video on the company's stream of the event, didn't happen. The video showed Branson riding a bike to the Spaceport America launch site, taking off his helmet on arrival before greeting crewmates.

Virgin Galactic yesterday admitted to Reuters that the video was actually filmed on Monday 5 July and that Branson did not ride his bike to the launch. "The footage of Sir Richard Branson shown during the event on Sunday was prerecorded and misidentified in the broadcast. We regret the error and any confusion it may have caused," a Virgin Galactic official confirmed to Reuters.

Trek Bicycles claimed Branson rode one of its custom-made bikes on launch day, but it turns out the clip, which Branson shared to Twitter and was published by Virgin with the line 'earlier today', was actually from a week earlier. After the flight, Branson said, "It's so awesome to arrive on a bicycle, across this beautiful New Mexico countryside."

The next two stages are the final days of this year's Tour de France in the mountains and the race organisers might just have saved the best until last. Stage 17 takes the peloton from Muret to the Hors Catégorie Col du Portet via two 1st Category mountains - the Peyresourde and Col de Val Louron-Azet.

The first 110km are flat and easy as the riders ease their way towards the high mountains. Kilometre 113 is going to be key as the intermediate sprint comes before the main climbs in Bagnères-de-Luchon, so Cav should not be dropped and will hope to re-establish his lead in the green jersey competition which has been cut in recent days. Michael Matthews' superior climbing has allowed the Aussie to rack up the points while Cav has been in the grupetto, reducing the deficit to 38 points.

After the sprint it's time for the Peyresourde, a stalwart of the Tour de France route. A short descent leads to Col de Val Louron-Azet, before another short descent takes the peloton to the foot of the final climb - Col du Portet.

At 2,200m, it is huge by the Pyrenees' usually shorter, steeper standards. It's an Alpine-sized climb with Pyrenean roughness and averages 8.7 per cent for 16km, rarely dropping below 10 per cent for the first six...Can anyone crack Tadej Pogačar?