“Attack, attack!”: Wout van Aert and Co cheer on Australian junior racers; Bike thief sentenced to 16 years; Police investigate Jumbo sponsor fraud – cycling team ‘not involved’; Movistar doc returns to Netflix; Swift joins Ineos + more on the live blog

Archie Ryan wins the second stage of #OkoloSlovenska! Super form from Avenir continues pic.twitter.com/4mMjgpHIJK

— Eemeli (@LosBrolin) September 15, 2022

Remember this date, as we may have witnessed the birth of a future star today on stage three of the Tour of Slovakia.

Ireland’s Archie Ryan, riding his first race for the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team after moving up from the Dutch squad’s development set up, simply rode the likes of Mauri Vansevenant and Lorenzo Fortunato off his wheel on the tough cobbled ramp to the finish in Banská Štiavnica to secure what may well be the first of many pro victories.

The 20-year-old, after a few years blighted by injuries, finished an impressive fourth at last month’s Tour de l’Avenir, earning himself a call up to Jumbo-Visma’s first team for the five-day event in Slovakia. He was then strong enough to make the select front group on today’s hilly stage (while the rest of his teammates floundered in the chase) and simply proved irresistible during the uphill sprint to the line.

🇸🇰 #TourofSlovakia: Archie Ryan (TJV) wins 2nd stage
🥉 @lorenzfortunato third at the finish line after a wonderful job by the whole team
💙 WHAT A TEAM!! pic.twitter.com/lgpJ5EJBPF

— EoloKometaCyclingTeam (@EoloKometaTeam) September 15, 2022

Judging by the response on Twitter to Ryan’s sensational debut win, Irish cycling fans have reacted to the emergence of a new star with typical composure and pragmatism.

Or not…

This will go down well in Ireland: Archie Ryan takes his first Pro win riding for Jumbo Vismas in Slovakia. WOW.

— Colin Lynch PLY (@FormerTTchamp) September 15, 2022

Wearing the jersey of the elite Jumbo-Visma team in a race for the first time (rather than the development team), 20-year old Archie Ryan has just taken his first pro win at the Tour of Slovakia. What a future in store for this young man.

— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) September 15, 2022

First of many pro wins for Archie Ryan pic.twitter.com/bP6d7PHEGM

— Dodge (@seidodge) September 15, 2022

Fucking god our Archie Ryan!! Congrats @rrchieryan

— Aitor Fdez-Cabrera (@Panzas87) September 15, 2022

Archie Ryan. Newer Human.

— Ned Boulting (@nedboulting) September 15, 2022

This is definitely not what you want to come across on your morning commute:

M1 northbound cycle lane earlier today. @Fingalcoco pic.twitter.com/ChRun1Qi5q

— Fingal Cycling (@Fingal_Cycling) September 14, 2022

The motive behind this seemingly senseless, but extremely frustrating, act of vandalism is currently unknown. While some Twitter users have suggested that it was the work of either a simple fly tipper or a particularly staunch opponent of the Green Party (whose local TD serves as a Minister in the current administration), others have pointed the finger at the anti-cycling brigade:

We still have such a long way to go in Ireland.
So many people hate cyclists...

— Ronald Vallenduuk (@vallenduuk_ie) September 14, 2022

A bike thief in Colorado has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to an organised crime charge following a spate of bike shop burglaries last year.

According to Bicycle Retailer, 23-year-old Austin Butler was one of eight people indicted by the state attorney general as part of an investigation imaginatively titled ‘Operation Vicious Cycle’.

Originally charged with 25 counts, at a hearing last week Butler pleaded guilty to one count of violation of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, one count of second-degree burglary, and one count of aggravated motor vehicle theft.

According to the indictment last year, Butler was charged with recruiting participants into the organised crime ring.

It read: “Members of the enterprise had specified roles and responsibilities. Butler recruited burglary participants in the days leading up to each burglary. Often, these participants were friends and acquaintances of his. This was usually done by using Facebook messenger.

“Once a burglary crew was assembled, one or more of the participants would steal a vehicle, which was then used to surveil the chosen bike shop and commit the burglary.”

Prosecutors say that the ring would then use the stolen vans to drive through the front windows of bike shops, before loading the van with stolen bikes. The bikes would then be transferred to other accomplices, who would sell them and abandon the stolen vans.

The crime spree affected bike shops across the Denver and Boulder areas between December 2019 and June 2020, with the value of the stolen and damaged property totalling approximately $1.5 million.

Butler admitted to investigators that he had participated in a number of the break-ins and associated vehicle thefts. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Four co-defendants are scheduled for arraignment later this month.

“I am proud of our prosecutors’ tireless work and collaboration with local law enforcement to hold the defendant accountable for the significant harm he caused to several individuals, businesses and non-profit agencies from this vehicle and bike theft criminal enterprise,” said Colorado’s Attorney General Phil Weiser.

“We are committed to ensuring others charged in this criminal enterprise will be held fully responsible for their actions, and to sending the message that property theft will not be tolerated.”

It’s been a long, hard year, but finally we’ve all been presented with something to sustain our morale throughout the winter… or at least long enough for a Netflix binge over the bank holiday weekend.

It's taken quite some time (apologies for that! 🙏), but #ElDíaMenosPensado's Season 3 is now available to viewers worldwide on @netflix. https://t.co/RE1PqHFYhW pic.twitter.com/W8igaLSho1

— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) September 15, 2022

Because the third series of Movistar’s sensational (I may be editorialising here) behind the scenes documentary ‘The Least Expected Day’ – hitherto languishing on Spanish streaming apps – has finally made its way around the world via its old home, Netflix.

As the four-parter explores the 2021 season, expect to see more shenanigans from everyone’s favourite 28 going on 13-year-old Marc Soler before he departs for the UAE, as well as THAT Miguel Ángel López incident at the Vuelta.

And don’t forget that great theme song: ‘I’m making my way home, I’m making my way…’

Fetch me the popcorn…

We're sorry - we got this one wrong.

Full guidance: https://t.co/Q5vG08EEnL pic.twitter.com/ahk17taH93

— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) September 15, 2022

Read our full story on British Cycling’s latest Mea Culpa here:

> “We’re sorry – we got this one wrong”: British Cycling apologises for advising cyclists not to ride their bikes during state funeral

They don’t need to advise drivers,
Drivers have far more brains to understand that not only wood it be impossible to drive, but the security is going to be so high you’d be stoped every 100 yards for checks.

— Peter Beattie (@oOPeterOo) September 15, 2022

Ah, drivers and their many brains…

Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo has distanced itself from CEO Frits van Eerd after his house was raided in relation to a large-scale investigation into money laundering and fraud which revolves around, among other things, sponsorship contracts in motorsport.

Jumbo is the co-title sponsor of this year’s Tour de France winning men’s team Jumbo-Visma, as well as the Marianne Vos-led women’s team and a development squad, with their trademark yellow and black colours becoming a mainstay of the pro peloton since they invested in the Dutch team formerly known as Rabobank in 2014.

The company also has sponsorship deals across a range of sports, including speed skating and motocross.

On Tuesday’s live blog we reported that the house of Jumbo’s CEO, Frits van Eerd, was raided by Dutch police and the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) as part of an investigation into money laundering and fraud, with several arrests made across the Netherlands.

In a press release, the Public Prosecution Service said: “This laundering was done through real estate transactions, car trading, unexplained cash deposits, and motocross sponsorship contracts. In addition, there is a suspicion of VAT fraud in the car trade.”

Jumbo has distanced itself from the investigation, which it says “does not focus” on the company. “However, questions are being asked to Frits van Eerd in the context of the investigation,” a spokesperson said.

Jumbo-Visma is yet to respond to this week’s raids, though it is currently believed that the cycling team is not involved in the investigation.