“Keeping it clean looks like a nightmare”: Puzzled cyclists want explanation over mysterious new wheels with hollowed out rims; CyclingMikey “anticipated bad driving” to avoid collision with driver turning across cycle lane + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Jonas Vingegaard out of Paris-Nice after suffering bruised hand in crash
Bad news: Visma-Lease a Bike have announced that Jonas Vingegaard won’t be starting the sixth stage of Paris-Nice today. Good news: He hasn’t suffered a fracture in his hand, as reports suggested yesterday.
The two-time Tour de France winner had a tough time at the French stage race, with a crash at the Côte de Trèves meaning he had injured his hand and couldn’t use his left brake throughout the race. He was seen struggling to even keep up with the peloton at one point, and in the end, he lost the yellow jersey to his teammate Matteo Jorgensen, dropping down to second position in the general classification trailing by 22 seconds.
This morning, Visma-Lease a Bike confirmed that the Dane suffered a bruised hand, not a fracture. “Our medical staff has decided that it is best for him to recover from yesterday’s crash at home and focus on his next goals for the season,” the team said in a statement.
Yesterday, Jorgensen had told reporters after the race that Vingegaard came up to him during the race and said that his hand might be broken. The team’s new domestique rider Victor Campenaerts also said: “Jonas was talking about how he was dizzy. I didn’t have the impression that he was very lucid.”
There’s no confirmation yet whether Vingegaard would be able to recover and ready to race in his next scheduled race, which is the Tour of Catalonia, set to start on Monday, 24th March.
“Just like you’d wait for a bus to pass on a bus lane”: CyclingMikey urges drivers to check if cycle lane is empty before turning across it after “anticipating bad driving” to avoid collision
To kick off this Friday live blog, we have yet another instance of a driver turning left across a cycle lane, without checking their mirrors and looking for any cyclists who could be coming through.
This time, the footage has been shared by popular camera cyclist Mike van Erp, better known as CyclingMikey, who had a near miss while cycling in Shepherd’s Bush, London.
Mikey was riding on the Uxbridge Road when he noticed the driver of a silver Mercedes standing at the traffic light junction despite the lights having turned green. I’m sure as many other cyclists would’ve experienced, that in itself is enough for the alarm bells in your heads to start ringing, with suspicions of either the driver being careless, or worse, using a mobile phone, mounting high.
It’s on you as a driver to check that a cycle lane next to you is clear before you turn across it. It’s no different to waiting for a bus to pass before turning across a bus lane. The Met Police proceeded with my allegation, likely outcome was a driver awareness course. pic.twitter.com/BMvsqlOGsM
— CyclingMikey the Unspeakable (@MikeyCycling) March 14, 2025
Already being careful and riding slow, Mikey comes alongside the driver in the bike lane, but then the driver speeds up and turns left across the cycle path, without checking if there was anyone there. Thankfully, he said that he had “anticipated and braked due to their bad driving”.
“If you turn across a cycle lane and force a camera cyclist to stop, then you’re likely to be prosecuted. This driver was dealt with by the Met Police,” wrote Mikey while sharing the video on social media.
“It’s on you as a driver to check that a cycle lane next to you is clear before you turn across it. It’s no different to waiting for a bus to pass before turning across a bus lane. The Met Police proceeded with my allegation, likely outcome was a driver awareness course.”
One person commented: “Scary how drivers turn left without checking their mirrors. Should be second nature.”
“We are not old, we just started young”: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot looks forward to racing with Marianne Vos, and shows off the after-effects of *that* slide at Strade Bianche
Making a comeback to road cycling with a completely new team at the age of 33 would seem like a daunting task for many, but not for Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who’s got one of her big races of the season out of the way, and is not looking forward to racing with Marianne Vos at Visma-Lease a Bike at Milan-San Remo.
After losing her bike and going for a slide on Saturday’s Strade Bianche, in which she finished third, the former world champion has proudly showed off her wounds but also said that she’s been recovering well and training according to her programme
“Back to racing after nine years with the goat, Marianne Vos,” she wrote on Instagram. “We are not old, we just started young.”
Two climbs removed from tomorrow’s queen stage of Paris-Nice due to “unfavourable weather” conditions to “ensure riders’ safety”
While grim conditions are not a new feature for the Race to the Sun, the weather gods haven’t missed out on any tricks to put the riders through hell, unleashing snow, hail, heavy rain and extremely cold temperatures on the peloton.
It has been the source of much controversy already, with differing opinions in the peloton about whether races should be allowed to take place in such conditions. Now, the organisers have decided to shorten the queen stage of the race, cutting down two climbs.
With the Côte de Belvédère (3.3km at 5.7 per cent) and the Col de La Colmiane (7.5km at 7.1 per cent) being bypassed, the total distance of the seventh stage will come down to 109.3km from the earlier proposed 147.8km.
Organising body ASO said in a statement: “The organisers of Paris-Nice have been closely monitoring the weather conditions in the Alpes-Maritimes department throughout the week. These conditions remain unfavourable for Saturday, particularly at higher altitudes.
“The arrival set in Auron remains unchanged, but safety conditions are not met to cross the Col de la Colmiane and use the following downhill. Thus, the riders will skip the Côte de Belvédère and the Col de La Colmiane and go straight after 55.8 km to continue through the Var Valley and then the Tinée Valley.
“They will rejoin the originally planned route shortly before Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée for the final 32.5km of this stage. Stage 7 will be 109.3km instead of 147.8km.”
“To ensure the riders’ safety, the decision to modify the route of stage 7 has been made in agreement with the city of Nice, the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur, the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture, and in consultation with the panel of commissaires from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), as well as representatives of the teams and riders (A.I.G.C.P, C.P.A).”
“I have a question, can you let me win on Sunday?”: Matteo Jorgensen’s asks the all-important question to Lenny Martinez
Jokes abound in the peloton, perhaps to cut through the chill of the French stage race…
The GC leader stayed back at the press conference to ask the winner of yesterday’s fifth stage, the 21-year-old Bahrain Victorious rider Lenny Martinez if he would be so kind to let him on Sunday!
With tomorrow’s queen stage already shortened, the next two days should provide us with some good racing and a tough battle for the yellow jersey to the very end — of course, before we get through today’s flat stage, one for the sprinters.
“This pathetic human being then slowly cycled towards me, grabbed my hair, punched my arm, and then again in my side by my ribcage”
Mads Pedersen holds off Joshua Tarling in sprint finish to round off another cold, windy day at Paris-Nice
It’s becoming a running feature of this year’s Paris-Nice, even more so than usual — but today’s stage six was once gain dominated by the cold weather and heavy rains, only this time, there was the added effect of strong winds, causing some echelons in the peloton.
With a reduced bunch sprint on the cards to determine the day’s victor, with only 17 riders in the front group. And with Mads Pedersen one of them, you’d bet that it was going to be anyone but him crossing the finish line at Berre L’Étang first.
But the Danish Lidl-Trek rider was made to work for it, surprisingly by Welsh time trial specialist Joshua Tarling, who put up a really strong, determined sprint, coming very close to snatching the win for himself.
Mads Pedersen just about hangs on! 😲
A thrilling sprint to the line between Pedersen and Josh Tarling sees the Lidl-Trek rider claim Stage 6 at Paris-Nice 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/1zI6WKoTWP
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) March 14, 2025
Pedersen told reporters after the race: “After such a tough day like today, it’s of course nice to win. It would be a pity to get second or third.
“No one likes to race in five or six degrees and rain, so it was a tough day. I just don’t care when it’s weather like this, but I really don’t enjoy it. In the end, I enjoy it now after the race, and it’s a victory in the pocket.”
Today marks the last day for sprinters at the French stage race, with tomorrow’s (shortened) queen stage and Sunday’s downhill finish after the 6.9km seven per cent Col de la Porte poised to determine the yellow jersey winner.
“The breakaway has survived!”: Cinderella story at Tirreno-Adriatico as Uno-X’s Fredrik Dversnes holds off peloton to win fifth stage
Imagine after riding almost 200 kilometres in the breakaway, you go “all-in” to drop everyone on the final climb. With the finish line in sight, you realise the likes of Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel are chasing you…
But with nobody — and I mean nobody giving Uno-X Mobility’s Fredrik Dversnes a chance, nor expecting a breakaway rider to leave the peloton ruing their chances, the Norwegian proved everyone wrong with a wonderful, commendable victory.
The GC leader Filippo Ganna, meanwhile, survived a scare in the dying stages, suffering a rear mechanical, but managed to avoid losing any time after being awarded the same time as the chasing bunch.
Coming back to Dversnes’ fairytale… this is truly the stuff cycling dreams are made of! “I got the word from my sports directeur to go all-in,” the 27-year-old said after the race.
“I had two pretty hard days and cold days, so with this weather today, it turned out to be a pretty good day. On the final climb, I got the word from my sports directeur to go all in, and luckily, it turned out to be good enough.
“For me, it means everything. It’s the biggest win of my career so far, and to be able to take the top step in a WorldTour race is a dream come true, no doubts about that.”
Hallelujah! We’ve found the patent for hollowed-out Coefficient wheels… and it’s an interesting one (Spoiler: they’re all about aero)
Wavy rims? Yes, we’ve all seen plenty of those over recent years. But wavy within a slightly deeper outer shell? Help!
We wondered whether Coefficient Cycling had a patent that could give us a clue, and thanks to some very smart sleuthing from our Tech Editor Mat Brett, we have discovered the patent for the most perplexing yet-to-be-released hollowed-out wheels that’s driving all of us mad.
It turns out that it applied for one for an aero foil system back in 2018. We can’t say 100 per cent that this is what we’re seeing here, but it looks like it.
“The Coefficient Cycling aero foil system is designed to reduce drag and turbulence from a tyre and spokes used to support a bicycle wheel. The system is integrated into a rim on a bicycle wheel which allows for increased forward momentum by cutting drag and reducing wheel turbulence that occurs during the rotation of a bicycle wheel. The foils may be strategically placed for optimum aerodynamic wind flow and are precisely angled to force win past the foil creating increased forward momentum.”
As is always the case, it’s written in convoluted patent language, but the essential point is: “The airfoils reduce drag and increase forward momentum by cutting turbulence created when the tyre spins”.
Strange, but the pictures included in the patent application suggest this is what we’re looking at. We’ll be intrigued to hear more next week.
“Keeping it clean already looks like a nightmare”: Puzzled cyclists want an explanation over mysterious new wheels with hollowed out rims
Another week, another new tech revelation that beats me (and actually, even my road.cc colleagues on the tech team). But before I get to the questions, let’s try and figure out what this latest innovation from Coefficient Cycling involves.
The company, whose claim to fame lies with the ergonomic and aerodynamic RR handlebar with a built-in GPS mount (it got a pretty good score from us and has allegedly become a reliable handlebar for many riders), mysteriously posted a close-up of its latest product on social media, and now we’re getting close to the supposed launch date.
The product in question are new wheels, but their rims look like they are hollowed out, with gorges in between each spoke, apparently for aerodynamic purposes? (If you ask your live blog editor, who has the most layman understanding of how aero stuff works, wouldn’t the recessed areas create turbulent air pockets, reducing the wheel’s aerodynamic efficiency?).
But, of course, the most pressing question is the apparent collection of all sorts of unwanted things that would take place in the recessed channels. I’m sure no cyclist wants their rims to trap mud, gravel, water, dirt, slurry — you name it — and then have them all sprayed up your back.
Don’t get me started on the additional weight from carrying all that debris trapped…
The company captioned the image with “The devil is in the details”. I know I’d happily make a deal with Him right now if that would mean finding out what’s the thinking behind all this.
> Review: Coefficient Cycling RR Handlebar
Thankfully, it’s not just us who’re left dazed and confused with this wheelset, others seemed to be as in the dark.
“Really love your approach and products, but this needs explanation!” wrote one person, while another asked: “What exactly am I looking at here?”
One social media user said: “Gonna need to see some real good data on this to back up the claims I see coming,” while one person simply joked: “Little early for April fool.”
Our tech gurus are baffled too, suggesting it could be something to do with vibration dampening, but with no explanation as to how the curious new hoops will stop mud and crud getting in.
The wheels are officially scheduled for launch on 17 March. We’ve asked Coefficient Cycling if they could provide us with some info that could help answer these pressing questions, and they’ve replied that we’ll be hearing from them soon. Rest assured, when we hear back, you will all be the first to know…
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As a Councillor, Edward needs to be paying some attention to all that parking obstructing visibility and manoeuvres at the junction, and sorting out those radii.
Ed Hill was chucked out by Reform in 2025, though TBF to him it was about how to run it rather than ideology I think. He is now reportedly closer to Advance UK, which is distinctly more extreme than Reform. I'd call this Alan Amos style attention seeking.
Emily, thank you for such an insightful piece. I’m a man, but I enjoy watching the women’s races, possibly more than the men’s. The racing is so much closer, we rarely know who’s going to win. You painted a wonderful picture of how a true champion is able to ‘rise above’ setbacks and distractions, and focus their energy on the task in hand. ‘All’s fair in live and war -and sport, but always good to hear riders expressing their admiration for their competitors
@Nigel Garage ...and then everyone applauded my courtesy and I waved courteously to all the people who were courteously throwing flowers and cheering and courteously waving flags that said "Nigel is the best!"
The picture from street view clearly shows give way lines from the roads to the green painted cycle/pedestrian lane. The road user should give way (or must...) to the user of the green lane. This would of course apply to any cyclist on the roadway.
If I recall there is a cave or two along the route - perhaps they were sheltering from the heat in one of those having taken it for a Golf bunker?
“So if there’s a cyclist travelling down the cycle path at the moment, from this position I can’t see them because my blind spots are too big on the left hand side of the vehicle”, claims Hill. Well, there's your problem, right there...🙄
First impression from the headline that he's likely a twit. Then the detail he was expelled from Reform makes you suspect that failing even their low bar requirements he really is. Then he clearly explains his vehicle is unsafe for the highway because he can't see to give way when turning. Any collision he now has should have that video run out explaining he drove a vehicle he knew to be unsafe. Advice for motorists; instead of thinking that pedestrians and cyclists are low risk 100kg objects, imagine them as a 300 Tonne trains that will crush you and your vehicle if you cross into their paths. You'd give way to the train, so you equally can to the others.
I've had a brief look on Facebook, and Ed Hill (who now appears to be affiliated with Advance UK) seems to have taken some useful road safety improvements under his remit, including an initiative to help local pedestrians on unpaved roads, where the wider council won't help due to planning failures. Regarding the cycle path, I think this is linked to a wider misunderstanding about giving way at junctions and I'm afraid I cannot agree with Mr Hill's conclusion. Regardless of the suitability of the cycle path, vehicles should give way at the junction to both pedestrians crossing and cyclists. It seems to be a poorly understood rule among motorists where some believe they have priority at junctions like this, where they certainly do not. I once had a similar issue myself, while leisurely walking to Waitrose to buy some lunchtime fripperies. A driver beeped their horn as I crossed the junction, despite me having priority, and was shocked and apologetic when I explained I had priority. A polite conversation later, the driver departed, educated and updated on the rules of the road.
"A cycle lane that traverses the entrance to a side road in Exeter should be changed so that “cyclists give way to vehicles”, according to an independent county councillor" Newsflash: Bicycles are vehicles. Now what?
17 thoughts on ““Keeping it clean looks like a nightmare”: Puzzled cyclists want explanation over mysterious new wheels with hollowed out rims; CyclingMikey “anticipated bad driving” to avoid collision with driver turning across cycle lane + more on the live blog”
I love that you can see the
I love that you can see the moment Mikey anticipated bad driving was also the exact moment he saw a silver convertible Mercedes.
Re CyclingMikey Video:
Re CyclingMikey Video: Jeremy Vine posted a video on Twitter on 19 July 2021 at 14:15 – undertaking a left turning lorry – a sensible person would not do that!
https://mobile.x.com/theJeremyVine/status/1417111204766564357
There are two Highway Code rules to consider:
Rule 140 – motorists should give way any cyclists in a cycle Cycle lane, even those approaching from behind, which many cyclists such as Jeremy Vine “hang their crash lid on” as their fundamental priority.
However…
Rule 74 – Cyclists should not ride on the inside of vehicles signalling or slowing down to turn left.
Me, regardless of who has priority, I never undertake a left turning vehicle!
It’s worth remembering that
It’s worth remembering that the camera view is often not representative of the experience on the road – even though from the comfort of our homes we can see the drivers indicating just before the turn in Mikey’s and Jeremy’s clips, on the road your eyes are likely focused a lot further forward than that, and you have often already made the decision to come alongside before they start indicating. The only collision I’ve had was like that – my front wheel was not far short of their rear bumper before they indicated at the last minute and turned left across me.
It’s somewhat vague, but I
It’s somewhat vague, but I suspect rule 74 is intended to refer more to filtering, rather than riding in an entirely separate lane.
Nonetheless, I’d agree that, regardless of what the HC says, that Vine clip does appear to exhibit a lack of either awareness or a sense of self-preservation, and I think I’d have chosen inconvenience and annoyance over risk to life and limb in that situation.
mdavidford wrote:
Rule 74 is absolutely about filtering. If there are bollards, it becomes a separate lane. Rule 140 applies here, so the driver must give way. Cycling Mikey was appropriately cautious, even though he had right of way. Driver is absolutely in the wrong.
the little onion wrote:
I think you mean “driver SHOULD give way”.
‘should’ these days – only
‘should’ these days – only the MUSTs and MUST NOTs are shouted.
There was no risk to life or
There was no risk to life or limb there. I think that, like many of us, Mikey is always tempted to stay safe whilst also capturing bad driving on video to share with the police.
He knew what the car was/could be doing and made sure he wasn’t in danger whilst also making sure that it was clear on camera that he hadn’t bothered to check before turning across the cycle lane.
I was talking about the Vine
I was talking about the Vine one, not the CM one. In the CM case I think he was remarkably clear-headed to have predicted it well in advance, given that he’d already passed them before they started indicating to turn – the first many people would have known about it was as they re-passed them and started to cut across.
Mr Anderson wrote:
On Mikey’s video, it looks like they caught up with him, then drove alongside him with the indicator blinking, and only then at the last moment swung across in front of him.
Given how long they were happy to sit at a green traffic light, you would have thought that the few more seconds to make sure that they weren’t going to kill anyone would not have been such a big deal…
Just a couple of quick things
Just a couple of quick things ….. 1) She was already passed by another cyclist ahead of Mikey and should have been aware that: “Oh! The cycle lane might be being used by cyclists!” 2) No mention of the lorry parked in the cycle lane further on. 3) I always ride with the attitude “I’m invisible and silent —– they can neither see nor hear me!”
The moron who almost took me
The moron who almost took me out today.
Too busy on his phone reaching across to the pasenger seat to notice he was now steering into me.
Due to the bright sun I could not find a clear shot of the reg and my front camera card was full, so nothing off that.
Did you see the reg plate in
Did you see the reg plate in person? Perhaps reading it out loud for the camera’s mike to record!
Mic is crap on the rear. The
Mic is crap on the rear. The front one is on a loop and I have to press a button to keep the segment but I only found the card full when I got home.
If you turn across a cycle
If you turn across a cycle lane and force a camera cyclist to stop, then you’re likely to be prosecuted
Different worlds! The only reason this doesn’t happen every day here is that there aren’t any cycle lanes*. That’s why I don’t have an upRide video of such an offence- which would definitely be ignored by Lancashire Constabulary.
* There are some painted ones on the A6, so I’ll be looking out for a suitable video- I’m sure it’s happened to me frequently, but around here you have to expect such bad driving all the time and you learn to automatically avoid the consequences
Was PFP in Strade Bianchi
Was PFP in Strade Bianchi another victim of Pogi corner?
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