“Full kit wan…that’s Cav!”: Mark Cavendish surprises punters riding in London; Lefevere continues Sam Bennett feud; Shapps stays; Bumper Drum & Bass On The Bike; Special edition kit; road.cc on Greenpeace’s ‘Wall of Change’ + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Full kit wan...that's Cav!": Surprised punter spots Mark Cavendish in full Deceunick-Quick-Step kit taking a spin through the capital
You may also run into Cav, casually weaving through traffic in full Quick Step regalia, which happened to me today. So there’s that! pic.twitter.com/a1c2n0NTyz
— Roy Badical (@TheRadicalBoy) September 15, 2021
My favourite part of this is the sheer number of adults, myself included, genuinely disappointed not to have caught a glimpse of their hero. Anyone see Cav in London, yesterday?
Roy Badical did, and snapped this quick picture before Cav presumably used the slipstream ahead and danced off into the distance…
Roy said: “He was his agile self but stopped at all the lights! I did have a very fun twenty seconds pretending he was my lead out man though. Only had time for a little chat with him while the light was red. Also completely coincidentally did get his autograph last weekend at the Tour of Britain!”
Someone show Eddie Marsan this strange photo of one of our most famous cycling faces, waiting at a red light…
Cycling is bonkers. Just Mark Cavendish out for a ride, for whatever reason, in London. Contractually obliged to wear full team kit. Because, cycling. https://t.co/DsbAClxqyo
— Ned Boulting (@nedboulting) September 15, 2021
Full kit wan …… that’s bloody Cav 😂
— Simon P. (@thepuncheur) September 15, 2021
Reaction to Boris Johnson keeping Grant Shapps as Transport Secretary
Phew. I do think Johnson is serious about kick-starting a cycling revolution across the country like he did in London and Shapps is onboard and key. Although I’d love them to move at light speed I suspect they’re moving at a sensible pace as to quickly could backfire.
— Real Gaz on a proper bike #fbpe (@gazza_d) September 15, 2021
Thoughts? Happy to see Shapps stay? What should the priority be moving forward?
Drum & Bass On The Bike goes big...bumper Bournemouth beach edition
This is what you call Riding & Raving. pic.twitter.com/PurC4dc0PQ
— Domonic (@domwhiting) September 16, 2021
Dom Whitting’s nationwide Drum & Bass On The Bike tour attracted its biggest crowd yet…can’t be long before someone shuts this down for having too much fun.
An Amsterdam vid would be top of our wishlist, and Dom said he’s already looking to speak to the local critical mass to get out there. Keep your eyes peeled…
Rudy Project marks Sonny Colbrelli's European Championships win with special edition Nytron helmet
Sonny Colbrelli was rocking his new European champ’s kit in Italy yesterday, including matching helmet and shades, thanks to Rudy Project. Bahrain Victorious’ helmet supplier came up with this special edition design to celebrate its rider’s win. The artwork has a nod to Colbrelli’s Italian National Championship win too, with the tricolore on the rear.
As we said yesterday, it’s just a shame that 10/10 Italian kit won’t be seen again…
road.cc on Greenpeace's 'Wall of Change'
road.cc’s Tass found herself on Greenpeace’s ‘Wall of Change’, a celebration of the group’s work over the past 50 years…and, of course, she’s repping the road.cc kit. Does that make us famous?
You can add yourself to the wall over on Greenpeace’s website…bonus points if you get us in there too…
"From now on, he will ride every race": Patrick Lefevere continues Sam Bennett feud, says sprinter will be selected for every race possible until the end of the season
Sam Bennett avoided a hefty pay cut by riding for Ireland at the European Championships on Sunday. The race meant the Irishman hadn’t gone three months without racing, meaning Patrick Lefevere was unable to slash his salary…1-0 Bennett.
The Deceuninck-Quick-Step boss isn’t one to go quietly however, and hit back today by saying Bennett will “ride every race” the team can possibly get him to. Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, Lefevere said: “From now on, he’s going to drive every race we can set him up in. On Sunday he will also participate in Gooik, on Tuesday he will start in Vichte plus everything that comes afterwards. He himself wanted it that way.
Lefevere joked he’s even sorry the end of season races in China are no longer on the calendar…it’s the latest barb from the outspoken Belgian. Last week, he accused Bennett of “playing with my balls in public”. Less amusingly, he also compared his rider’s upcoming return to Bora-Hansgrohe to “women who return home after domestic abuse”. Bennett has maintained a dignified silence since pulling out of the Tour de France with a knee injury that his boss said was a mental weakness, not a physical problem.
Josh Quigley nears halfway point of seven-day cycling distance record attempt
1000 Miles 🚴♂️
66 MILES / 1031 MILES TOTAL / 47% OF RECORD
7 DAY CYCLING DISTANCE WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT 🚴🏻♂️🥇
GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS: “GREATEST DISTANCE CYCLED IN ONE WEEK – UNPACED” 🏆🌍
Sponsor: @Thomas_Franks_ pic.twitter.com/3bN8psOSo4
— Josh Quigley (@JoshQuigley2026) September 16, 2021
Josh Quigley should pass the halfway point of his challenge today…still looking strong.
Patrick Lefevere hopeful of finding Cav agreement
Last night Patrick Lefevere had something else to say about the Cav contract conundrum. Forgive the fairly shoddy translation, he tweeted: “Water too deep between Mark Cavendish and Deceuninck-Quick-Step? We’re not talking about a bag of fries. How deep? 1cm or 25m? With a little good will, you always find a bridge.”
Earlier in the week, the 36-year-old was offered a one-year extension with the Belgian team. That was before Lefevere popped up in the Belgian press saying Fabio Jakobsen is their man for the Tour de France next year and that Cav is looking to cash in on his success…
Meanwhile, the Manx Missile was pootling around London in full kit…
“Full kit wan…that’s Cav!”: Mark Cavendish surprises punters riding in London https://t.co/IO9IrNxSou #cycling pic.twitter.com/mlgyMrLTLn
— road.cc (@roadcc) September 16, 2021
Alex Dowsett gets stuck
Sat on the roadside on a big tt session day having done 1 of 4 efforts, with a flat rear tyre and a spare tube with a valve not quite long enough. Waiting for my dad for an emergency call out.
After all these years, still deep down an amateur bike rider masquerading as a pro. pic.twitter.com/383aYe3G0I
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) September 16, 2021
Lithuanian government backs 'bicycle streets'
Forget Cabinet reshuffles for a second, Lithuania’s government has voted through ‘bicycle streets’. These will allow those on bikes to use the entire width of the road and limit other vehicles to 30km/h…
You may be wondering why that’s so deserving of the ‘bicycle street’ tag? Transport Minister Marius Skuodis said it’s so “cyclists don’t have to keept to the side of the street, in other words, they are an equal to all other vehicles.” I guess it’s nice to have it in writing…
Some Lithuanian cyclists have said their towns and cities need to do more to become bike-friendly, and that segregated infrastructure would be more helpful than ‘bicycle streets’. “Unless the surrounding infrastructure gives a sense that cyclists are safe here, then what’s the point? It only distorts the situation,” head of the Lithuanian Cyclists Association Paulius Bakutis told BNN News.
Right, you can go back to smiling about Dominic Raab…
Everyone's favourite g̶r̶e̶y̶h̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ whippet welcomes Rein Taaramäe home from La Vuelta
Motu 🐶 welcomed Rein Taaramäe back home with pride (and new toys) #LaVuelta21 pic.twitter.com/tPmZayI6fz
— Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert (@IntermarcheWG) September 15, 2021
Cyclist attacked by occupant of passing car in the Western Isles
About 4pm on Wednesday 15th September a cyclist on the main road at Newmarket, Stornoway, near Baker’s Road, was assaulted by the occupant of a passing car. It is believed a number of passers-by may have witnessed this. If you have any info, please contact Stornoway Police. pic.twitter.com/d4QCk4E97G
— Western Isles Police (@WIslesPolice) September 16, 2021
The Press and Journal reports Western Isles Police are looking for witnesses to come forward after a cyclist was attacked by the occupant of a passing car in the Newmarket area of Stornoway. Police belive a number of other road users may have seen the assault at around 4pm on Wednesday and encouraged anyone with information to contact officers in Stornoway.
Cav reaction: Does he HAVE to wear Quick-Step kit to the shops? + Bumping into pro rider stories
Was that sign ‘Do not overtake cyclists’ put there specially for Cavendish?
— •••JB••• (@JeffPB61) September 16, 2021
Lots of love for the Cav story. Martin had his own, “full kit wan…Oh! It’s…” moment.
Remember seeing a guy in full KAS gear on a club run. One of the guys said who does that w@nker think he is, Sean Kelly. We caught up, it was his team mate Martin Earley
— Martin Bateman (@martinbateman51) September 16, 2021
The photo also raised the question of when is a pro contractually obliged to wear team kit? At a race? Obviously. Training? You’d think so. Pop to the shops? Taking the kid for a tricycle around the park? To be fair, if I got all that free gear, I don’t think I’d ever be out of it…
wycombewheeler commented: “Love the idea that every time Cav (or any of the others) get on a bike they must be in team kit. Training ride – team kit. Return from dropping the car for a service – team kit. Pop to the supermarket – team kit. Think about using a london hire bike – better have team kit with you.”
Rendell Harris added: “I wonder if when he pops to the supermarket he’s only allowed to go to Lidl?”
We also had a few stories of readers bumping into (not literally, I hope) pro riders…
the little onion used to see the GB track stars often: “I used to regularly ride on the roads in south Manchester and Cheshire, and would often see the GB track riders out and about. Always friendly. Though seeing Chris Hoy pull away from a traffic light was impressive, even if he was barely putting any effort into it. His thighs were bigger than my waist!” If you think his legs are big, wait until you see what that wasp did…
Kapelmuur said: “Same here, Geraint Thomas lived near me and I’d often see him out training. He always waved and said hello. The same went for the other Sky riders. It amused me that Olympic gold medallists and World Tour race winners always acknowledged me while many club hacks would ride by as though I was invisible.”
PRSboy tried descending with the shark…”My only pro cyclist encounter was Team Astana headed up by Nibali when I was having a breather at the top of a climb in the Dolomites. Tried to follow them down the other side of the pass, frankly I did not see which way they went and I am a man who prides myself on descending!”
Any more?
16 September 2021, 08:02
16 September 2021, 08:02
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Given how rubbish Wandsworth Council is for active travel they actually did surprisingly well on the Healthy Streets Scorecard: https://www.healthystreetsscorecard.london/results/your_borough/wandsworth/ but this score seems to be mainly based on the roll out of (widely ignored) 20 mph speed limits. I suspect this is a temporary lull and the score will shortly plummet as even other similarly apathetic car-centric boroughs will start to outperform WBC. And the Blade Mews debacle is just ridiculous institutional anti-cyclist bias.
In my 5th year with a pair of their Roubaix gloves. They are starting to look a bit tatty not but have outlasted, by 2 my Castelli winter gloves.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8l5gme7lyo Judge wants to avoid banning motorcyclist from driving cars... why???
I am the Harold Lepper of the BMW story, I don't remember the accident nor the next 5 hours I have little flashes of memory in that time like snapshots. I was unconscious for a minute or two after I had wound up lying on the wrong side of the road after bouncing off the car. I would never ride on the wrong side of the road nor cut a corner it is not the way I ride a bike. I would use my lanes width if safe to do so. I can only guess what happened, I have a flash of memory of checking behind just before the corner to check no car behind as I would be moving to primary thought he corner, another flash of memory going I need full brakes and it won't be enough. I think I would have adjusted my line to the middle of the road hoping they would stop just over the give way line. They actually stopped right across my lane and about 2 feet into the opposite carriage way and the back of their car was just still in the side road. If I had stayed to the far left I would still have hit them. As the Judge said to Miss Sim if he was on the wrong side of the road why did he not cycle round your car? Surely where he hit you suggests he was veering away from your emerging car. Prosecution pointed out that I was braking so hard my back wheel was off the ground, she said she didn't think I had braked. Prosecution asked if she would pull out in the same situation again she said yes 4 times then the 5th time said perhaps not. Prosecution said that it looks like the cyclist was passing this sign on the CCTV about 8m from the accident on the left side of the road, she said it did but it was deceptive the cyclist was nearer the middle of the road. Prosecution paused then said so you deliberately pulled out into the path of oncoming traffic. They tried to muddy the water because they said I overtook another cyclist before the junction, which I believe is correct I have a vague recollection that it was moving very slowly and was more of a moped looking machine. It bumbles into view several seconds after the collision. Navigates round her BMW and was never heard of again! The verdict was reported to me just now that she has been found guilty has been banned from driving for 12 months and has been given a community order of 100 hours work. I think she saw me behind the moped as she approached the junction and before the junction had decided she had time to get out of the junction if the way was clear to the left, so she pulled out thinking she had time when she had given me about 10 yards to stop.
Surprised there's no mention of The Texan's crossfield detour in 2003, say what you like about him (and who doesn't?), the man could handle a bike…
For an increasing number of Southern French drivers* turn signals are becoming optional. *plate numbers showing 13, 31 and 84
You are absolutely determined to bait a certain Home Counties cyclist, aren't you!
@mctrials23 On the country roads here (Kent) people are usually good at not close passing me but the consistently overtake me on blind corners etc. Ah! good- you seem to be the ideal person to tell us about the Kent Police policy that videos of offences against cyclists will not be looked at unless there's a collision. Is it true, or just a rumour?
@mctrials23 As anyone that submits footage to the police knows, its a crapshoot and certain police forces are anti-cyclist... I don't know anything about 'shooting craps' but the implication is that it's down to chance. Not very much it isn't- I know how hostile Lancashire police are to cyclists, and Kent (I'm told- if this policy has changed, can a cam-equipped Kent cyclist let us know?) has even declared that videos without a collision with a cyclist will not be viewed or acted upon. I think that many police statements that action will be taken are false and that enquiries about that action will be ignored because there was either no action at all, or the joke letter was sent. They're pretty much all 'anti-cyclist'.
I'm now writing my Christmas gifts list to Santa. No doubt the bearded shrewd old man will be able to negotiate goods deals before brands release RRPs.
20 thoughts on ““Full kit wan…that’s Cav!”: Mark Cavendish surprises punters riding in London; Lefevere continues Sam Bennett feud; Shapps stays; Bumper Drum & Bass On The Bike; Special edition kit; road.cc on Greenpeace’s ‘Wall of Change’ + more on the live blog”
Love the Cav story.
Love the Cav story.
Bloody cyclists, dressed up like they do the tour de France or something….
i used to regularly ride on
i used to regularly ride on the roads in south Manchester and Cheshire, and would often see the GB track riders out and about. Always friendly. Though seeing Chris Hoy pull away from a traffic light was impressive, even if he was barely putting any effort into it. His thighs were bigger than my waist!
the little onion wrote:
Same here, Geraint Thomas lived near me and I’d often see him out training. He always waved and said hello.
The same went for the other Sky riders. It amused me that Olympic gold medalists and World Tour race winners always acknowledged me while many club hacks would ride by as though I was invisible.
the little onion wrote:
My only pro cyclist encounter was Team Astana headed up by Nibali when I was having a breather at the top of a climb in the Dolomites. Tried to follow them down the other side of the pass, frankly I did not see which way they went and I am a man who prides myself on descending!
Love the idea that every time
Love the idea that every time Cav (or any of the others) get on a bike they must be in team kit.
Training ride – team kit
Return from dropping the car for a service – team kit
Pop to the supermarket – team kit
Think about using a london hire bike – better have team kit with you.
I wonder if when he pops to
I wonder if when he pops to the supermarket he’s only allowed to go to Lidl?
Maybe he’s proud of being in
Maybe he’s proud of being in Quickstep. A few years ago when at Quebeka he was training in Essex in plain black kit. Maybe he was behind with the washing 🙂
I wonder if he was riding to
I wonder if he was riding to a chat with Matt Stephens for his Sigma sponsored coffee rides. Hope so as they were great fun, especially his one with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig.
Quote “You may also run into
Quote “You may also run into Cav, casually weaving through traffic in full Quick Step regalia, which happened to me today. So there’s that!”
I won’t but I wouldn’t be surprised if some driver did. I hope he got home safely.
drink driver struck cyclist
drink driver struck cyclist before fleeing scene
https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/19582378.colchester-drink-driver-struck-cyclist-fleeing-scene/
only 2 years in jail.
shocking
shocking
“road.cc on Greenpeace’s
“road.cc on Greenpeace’s ‘Wall of Change'”
Wall of change or first against the wall when the glorious revolution comes?
Love the drum and bass, I
Love the drum and bass, I imagine this is like Kryptonite for some folks. On the phones – check, more than one abreast – check, on the pavements – check, no hands – check, wheelies – check, having fun – double-check.
Although I wouldn’t normally condone any of this sort of thing.
When your best hope is Grant
When your best hope is Grant Shapps…
Dunno if Boardman could / would take a national role? Andy Burnham was saying he’d stick in Manchester last I heard but if he had another crack at leader maybe he’d bring Chris along?
chrisonatrike wrote:
Or they could bung Chris some money to work as a consultant – just run ideas past him and get a thumbs up or thumbs down from him.
I thought Boardman had a
I thought Boardman had a national role of some kind as I remember discussing it on here, as I didn’t think it was a good idea as it would spread his existing commitments too thin, and a national view just wouldnt cater for local differences, as in what London needs is radically different from what outside London needs, and what you wanted were more people like Chris, but in local roles.
Yes (not spreading too thin)
Yes (not spreading too thin) and not entirely (local approach). Definitely need local knowledge / understanding of people’s travel needs in the existing environment – to get local buy-in if nothing else. But the actual infra only really works for mass active transport if it’s (high quality) standard. Otherwise you have the status quo e.g. “that’s not what people want here” (e.g. none), or it’s unsafe because everywhere has their own conventions so the road design’s not legible, or its unsatisfactory because “in Stroud we think cycle lanes on dual carriageways are fine and also 50cm wide is plenty”.
We have “standards” but I believe it’s the usual – a combination of “guidance” rather than “must”, very low “minimums” and a tangle of where this actually applies / who is responsible. I doubt think we’re so wooly when it comes to designs for cars though, but I’m not a designer (links to UK stuff listed here and a review of the Dutch version here).
Well there is always Michael
Well there is always Michael Green…
Riding through the Brecons a
Riding through the Brecons a few years back, saw a guy at the traffic lights going the other way in full Sky kit. Me: “Would you look at that sad bugger, full Sky replica kit, he looks like an OK rider but I mean Jesus, oh my God look he’s even got a Dogma in Sky colours, get a life!” Mrs H: “Isn’t that Luke Rowe?” Me: “Oh. Yeah. Suppose I’ll allow it this once then.”
I see the 9sp chain thread
I see the 9sp chain thread has disappeared – perhaps it was sent back to Amazon.