Footage of bat-wielding road rage driver being pepper-sprayed by cyclist in Poland goes viral; Pello Bilbao blasts UCI “hypocrisy” over Israel-Premier tech; TfL Highway Code awareness campaign + more
SUMMARY
No Danish balcony party for Vingegaard's Vuelta victory as he prioritises end-of-season schedule
The Danish Cycling Union (DCU) has confirmed that there will be no homecoming celebration on a balcony in Copenhagen this year to mark Jonas Vingegaard’s Vuelta victory, as the 28-year-old prioritises his recovery ahead of the European Road Championships in two weeks’ time. Mads Pederson – who won the points classification – will also miss out on a Danish knees-up to mark his success.
“We at DCU have tried all possibilities because the Minister of Culture wanted to celebrate Vingegaard’s triumph”, the governing body told Feltet.
“However, Jonas needs to come home and recover after a tough Vuelta, and we have great respect for that.”
An official celebration is instead due to take place at Visma Lease-a-Bike HQ in the Dutch city of Den Bosch today.
Looking to upgrade your commute? Check out our freshly polished folding bikes guide
Here’s one we might have forgot to give a once over for Commuting Week, a pretty large oversight so hopefully you can forgive us just this once…
VecchioJo's Facebook fancy of the week: a vintage 1995 Greek national team track bike, yours for £3,500
Our spotter-in-chief has come up with the vintage goods again, happening across this (what appears to be) genuine 1995 track bike as used by the Greek national cycling team at the time.
The seller, representing Miclo Bikes Limited based in London, says this is an original Metron track bike in a size medium with Shamal tubular wheels and 165mm C record cranks (short cranks aren’t such a new thing, then).
The price is set at £3,500, and if you’re interested in owning this slice of Greek cycling history you can check out the listing here while it’s still live.
Yamas!
Andre Grei-pull
Just the legendary German sprinter towing a mate up a hill, barely breaking sweat. The 42-year-old strangely credits Shimano Germany and Schwalbe tyres for the effort, which is modest to say the least.
Well this looks like a potentially very decent off-season purchase...
Cycplus is promising +/-1% accuracy, up to 2,200 watts of resistance and cordless riding (at low intensities) in its new $499 (around £366) R200 trainer. You can also shift virtually with Cycplus’ app and its BC2 device, which is sold separately.
More on this later in the week, and of course we’ll be asking for one to review in full.
This post originally said the R200 trainer was priced at $399, but this was an error when switching between countries on the Cycplus website. We’re now getting a UK price of £368.07 excluding shipping and taxes at checkout, still very reasonable indeed compared to similarly-specced smart trainers.
"For those not in the cycling bubble... this was a message to all of corporate sport", says Ned Boulting of improvised Vuelta podium celebration
For those not in the cycling bubble…this was a message to all of corporate sport.
Last night, the final podium ceremony of the Vuelta was cancelled (for important reasons, but not for this point).
So the teams and the riders improvised.
What we saw was the real thing. https://t.co/kJQE7b5Peg
— Ned Boulting 🏳️⚧️ (@nedboulting) September 15, 2025
For those of you still catching up, stage 21 of the Vuelta was cancelled on Sunday after pro-Palestine protesters breached security around the finishing circuit in Madrid.
As we also mentioned on yesterday’s live blog, an improvised finish complete with hastily erected sponsor backdrops and drinks coolers in place of a podium were thrown up, and Ned Boulting sees it as a rather more genuine representation of the sport compared to the usual corporate fanfare we’re used to witnessing.
Putting aside the circumstances, you can’t deny there was something charming about a two-time Tour de France champ hopping on a drinks cooler to claim his third Grand Tour victory, popping champagne likely bought from a local corner shop.
Transport for London launches new poster campaign to raise awareness of Highway Code rules. Social media comments are as informed as ever...
TfL has released details of a new poster campaign to promote the observation of Highway Code rules on its road network. Some are aimed at cyclists – such as the one above stating that cyclists must always stop at red lights – while others are aimed at drivers or a mix of the two, like reminding drivers and cyclists to let pedestrians cross before they turn, and letting drivers know they must let cyclists pass before turning (below).
Despite the latest data from TfL revealing that, as always, incidents involving motor vehicles are far more likely to results in serious injuries and death, that hasn’t stopped numerous people on social media claiming that cyclists are causing most of the issues:
“90% of the danger on London’s roads are cyclist / escooter and ebike. Cars are pretty reasonable”, one incorrectly claimed, while another said without evidence: “Cyclists should receive training they are often the worst offenders against pedestrians.”
Still, others had a more measured approach: “The instructions are a reminder to all people on wheels to drive with courtesy and within the law to keep everyone safe”, said one.
TfL says the posters form part of its Vision Zero strategy, which aims to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries from London’s transport network by 2041, and was also introduced because some elements of the Highway Code – particularly newer additions concerning cyclist and pedestrian safety – are not widely understood by the public.
“[The] new campaign aims to raise awareness of the Highway Code, with a particular focus on highlighting key rules designed to protect people walking, cycling and motorcycling”, says TfL.
“[The] campaign will appear on roadside posters across the capital and TfL’s social media channels and is supported by the DfT.
“Recent TfL survey found only 16 per cent of people understand key Highway Code rules designed to keep everyone safe. Latest data shows cycling and motorcycling and walking remain the most at-risk road users in London.”
Over 2,400 shipping containers containing e-bikes seized as part of anti-dumping crackdown from China, with six arrests made
In the Greek port city of Piraeus, six people – including customs officers – have been arrested for their alleged part in a criminal network that imported goods illegally from China to avoid customs duty.
According to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), over €250 million–worth of goods including e-bikes, textiles and footwear were seized during the huge raid, and compliance has been higher since the crackdown happened. The operation has been dubbed ‘Investigation Calypso’.
European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi said: “Highly organised criminal networks have been specialising in this kind of fraud for years. They have grown accustomed to cause massive damages to our finances and economies with close to no risk.
“Investigation Calypso sends these criminals a simple message: the rules of the game have changed, no more safe havens for you! Now we need to turn this spectacular success into systematic work: we need dedicated and specialised police, customs and tax investigators in the whole EPPO zone.”
The EPPO estimates that just the e-bikes that were seized in the raid will have resulted in €25 million in unpaid customs duties and €12.5 million in VAT losses. Those e-bikes filled 500 shipping containers, and those that have been opened so far were found to be heavily undervalued. On average, only 10-15% of the actual number of e-bikes in a container were declared, according to the EPPO.
Veteran Bahrain-Victorious rider Pello Bilbao hits out at UCI's "hypocrisy" over allowing Israel-Premier Tech to remain on WorldTour, and praises pro-Palestine protesters
The 35-year-old, who has a post pinned to his Instagram page that simply says “Stop genocide on Gaza”, expressed surprise that he has not been asked about his views on the conflict or the disruptions at the Vuelta a Espana before during an interview with Spanish publication El Periodico.
Reiterating his belief that the invasion of Gaza by the state of Israel should be considered a genocide of the Palestinian people, Bilbao blamed the UCI and the Spanish government for not taking action to protect riders before the start of the Vuelta, and questioned why Israel-Premier tech were able to race when Russian teams are banned.
Bilbao said: “It’s not easy for me to give my opinion on this issue and say that I want Israel-Premier Tech out of the peloton when I have former teammates and acquaintances there with whom I get along well and who I know work hard within the team. It’s a very complicated situation, and they’re suffering too.
“But, at the same time, I don’t understand the UCI’s hypocrisy when they made a different decision with [Gazprom-RusVelo]. I don’t understand the difference. Why some and not others? I don’t know if they think the problem will be solved if Israel and [the team’s owner] Sylvan Adams leave the team and Premier Tech remains [a] Canadian team. Maybe it’s a compromise. But I repeat: I don’t understand the UCI’s hypocrisy.”
Bilbao also claimed there other riders in the WorldTour peloton who hold similar views to him, but suggested they are not as “radical” and want to “avoid awkward situations.”
“One race stops, but not the whole world”, continued Bilbao.
“This shouldn’t be the main discussion when more than 60,000 civilians have died in Gaza; 20,000 of them were children.
“…they’re in a prison with an open sky, their homes destroyed, on the verge of dying of hunger, and with no safe place in the Gaza Strip. They [the state of Israel] bomb hospitals and camps. It’s inhumane.”
Quick-Step rider Louis Vervaeke claims that Israel-Premier Tech riders were asking rivals for 'a spot on their team next year'
In an interview with Sporza, the 31-year-old Belgian revealed some more details around the fear that engulfed the peloton during the Vuelta a Espana, claiming that some Israel-Premier Tech riders wanted to go home, and even asked other riders if there were any spots on their teams for the 2026 season.
“They’re [Israel-Premier Tech riders] wearing that shirt with that flag… they were really struggling and just wanted the Vuelta to be over.
“Some riders even asked if we had a spot on the team for next year. They also felt they couldn’t go home because they were getting paid and would risk being fired. That was very sad for them.”
Vervaeke said the atmosphere changed following the infamous scenes during stage 11 in Bilbao, claiming that some protesters jumped from bridges with ropes in an attempt to stop team cars, and tacks were placed on the road.
He continued: “We just wanted to race, and we didn’t want the race to be jeopardised. But we were in danger. That can’t be the intention. It felt like we were in a political conflict. That’s taking things too far, and in Madrid it simply wasn’t sustainable anymore.”
Questionable study of the week: Hyundai drivers are "the most frustrated with cyclists" and "Gen-Z drivers are the most nervous sharing a road with cyclists", plus other unusual nuggets
Hyundai owners have no time for you, say 53% of a small number of Hyundai owners
Punted back up our inbox today after we may have failed to spot it during a heavy influx of questionable studies sent to us because SEO experts most likely noticed increased search activity around any modes of travel that aren’t the London Underground during last week’s tube strikes, is another questionable study courtesy of insurance firm Cycleplan.
Based off a sample of 1,000 drivers, the study managed to ascertain that “Hyundai owners are the most frustrated with cyclists”, 53% of them to be exact. That’s compared to 52% of MG drivers, 51.3% of Tesla drivers, 51% of Nissan drivers, and 50.8% of Merc drivers.
Even if we were to assume that those surveyed were only owners of those five brands of car, we’re going to put it out there and say it’s a bit of a reach to claim that Hyundai owners are absolutely the most annoyed at us out of all the drivers of all the cars in the UK. Were Morris Minor owners consulted? What about the 187 people (according to Autocar) that get around in an Ineos Grenadier 4×4? Answers on a postcard please, if you aren’t accosted by a hotheaded Hyundai driver on your way to get one…
From this mysterious sample of 1,000, the researchers also concluded that Gen-Z drivers (those born roughly between 1997-2012, who can also drive in this instance) are “the most nervous sharing the road with cyclists”, Newcastle residents are “the most friendly towards cyclists”, and 78% of drivers “feel confident they know the traffic rules that apply to cyclists” (there’s some stuff further down the page that contradicts this somewhat).
Cycleplan also shares some advice that is a little more universal, reiterating the need for drivers to leave 1.5m of space when overtaking cyclists, and be patient and observant.
“Our research highlights drivers’ perception of cyclists and how vulnerable they are on roads”, says Alan Thomas at Cycleplan.
“Some drivers feel nervous sharing the road with cyclists; however, it’s encouraging to see that most have the knowledge to act responsibly. There is a need for better education and investment in cycling infrastructure to ensure the safety of drivers and cyclists on the roads.”
"In the end, all we needed was a car park, some duck tape and some cool boxes"
Tom Pidcock’s take on the 2025 Vuelta’s car park ceremony after bagging third place overall. In the comments, people are saying it’s “the best podium ever”, “heartwarming” and “making the best out of the situation” amongst other (almost all positive) things.
*SENSITIVE CONTENT WARNING* "Touching their car is like touching them personally": Polish cyclists comment on shocking video showing bat-wielding driver being 'pepper-sprayed'
Mężczyzna, który zwrócił uwagę kierowcy jadącemu pod prąd, został przez niego zaatakowany kijem bejsbolowym. W obronie własnej użył gazu pieprzowego, co powstrzymało napastnika.Szczecin
byu/pcc2048 injebacsamochody
We’ll warn you again that the video above contains very strong language and sensitive content
The driver of the red Porsche – who has a UK number plate – is accused by the cyclist of going the wrong way down a one-way street. A foul-mouthed argument ensues, before the driver appears again with a baseball bat at 1:55 into the clip.
The cyclist points what looks like a pepper spray can towards the driver – who is now advancing towards him – and we see the driver holding his face at the end of the clip after the spray has been deployed.
Pepper spray is legal to carry by anyone over the age of 18 without permission or registration in Poland, however owners who deploy the spray when faced with an imminent threat are expected to report the incident to the police.
The incident reportedly happened in the city of Szczecin in northwest Poland.
“People freak out about their metal boxes, and touching their car is like touching them personally”, said Kompot45 in the comments section on Reddit.
We’re currently trying to find out more details, and will update this blog if we get them.
16 September 2025, 08:49
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Latest Comments
If the man can't turn his head to check his blind spot he shouldn't be on the road
Follow the road rules. Why is this even a discussion? Because the road rules are not adequately policed. …Solution: how about £100 fines for everyone flouting the road rules / risking cyclists lives on social media and in council chambers, as well as on the roads? That should stop this ongoing waste of time.
@Rendel Harris you've painted a rather alluring picture of social harmony there, but unfortunately you've got my name wrong. I'm Jack, not Nigel. However, to return the compliment, I must think of a story for you. I imagine you sat outside a pub, real ale and pipe propped on the adjacent table, in a similar fashion to Nigel Farage at his populist best. You turn to your wife. "You know what dear? I think I've been a bit harsh in my time. I've shunned the politeness and wisdom of others for too long and want to change my ways.* "There there Rendel", says Mrs Harris. "You're not a bad old stick, it's just living in London that's emptied your soul of kindness and compassion. I've found a lovely new place where we can settle down in our later years. It's on a leafy cul de sac, surrounded by friendly neighbours and smiling faces. There's a guy a couple of doors down, a remarkable man. As well as his towering intellect and rapier wit, he's also a keen cyclist, holding severa local KOMs. Don't be perturbed dear - he'll ride with anyone provided they show other road users the kindness and courtesy they deserve." Rendel turned emotionally, voice shaking. "Oh my dear, thank you for this second chance", and with that the rest of the pub goers turned and applauded the couple, throwing garlands of petals in their wake. The end.
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...🙄
32 thoughts on “Footage of bat-wielding road rage driver being pepper-sprayed by cyclist in Poland goes viral; Pello Bilbao blasts UCI “hypocrisy” over Israel-Premier tech; TfL Highway Code awareness campaign + more”
Quote:
Was someone a beat copper in a TV comedy in a former life? (Although you forgot to put the ‘h’ on the start of ‘hobtains’.)
Quote:
Not that strangely, when you look closely at the ‘tow-rope’.
Aside from the language in
Aside from the language in that clip from Poland, which any adult/person with internet access will not be fazed by, the clip doesn’t really show anything worse that we might have seen elsewhere (with regards to cyclist v driver confrontations).
Unless I’m missing something.
You can see the driver swing
You can see the driver swing the baseball bat at the cyclist. I’d say thats generally worse than most road rage we see here.
Good spot. Don’t know how I
Good spot. Don’t know how I missed that.
Does this help?
Does this help?
NotNigel wrote:
Hmmmm 🤭
Has anyone else spotted that
Has anyone else spotted that if he’s going the wrong way down a one way street how come there’s another parked car facing the same way as the porsche? (just ahead of the white Mini)
The map shown in the blue sky
The map shown in the blue sky thread shows a one way street with this driver going the wrong way.
kinderje wrote:
Because that driver went the wrong way too?
mitsky wrote:
Is it just me hearing a
Is it just me hearing a paraphrase of Sean Connery: “Trusht an Englishman to bring a roundersh bat to a pepper-shpray fight…”
It probably was up until I
It probably was up until I read your comment now I can’t not hear it…reminds me of the classic ‘what time does Sean Connery usually turn up to watch Wimbledon?…Ten-ish’
Rendel Harris wrote:
Thatsh the Shicago way!
or Shimano way. No shure.
the little onion wrote:
Shapeau!
Not a British driver. Just
Not a British driver. Just another Pole (poorly) pretending to be one. And yes, those pepper sprays are quite popular in Poland. Usually followed by grabbing the car keys from the ingition and throwing them in the nearest rain water hatch.
whosatthewheel wrote:
Wow, plenty to unpick there. So he’s a Pole whose desire to pretend to be British extends to having UK plates? Wouldn’t a Pole arguing with another Pole speak Polish? As far as I can see and hear the Porsche driver seems to be more of Middle Eastern origin. And lastly, just a friendly reminder that you can have a foreign accent and still be British, e.g. Queen Victoria.
At least the Porsche is taxed
At least the Porsche is taxed and MOT’d
So if I understand that TFL
So if I understand that TFL thing right, if you’re cycling up to a junction on the major road and something you cant see starts indicating behind you, always let them by. How’s that going to work :-/
What am I misreading?
What am I misreading?
Presumably the request is to drivers of vehicles behind to not turn across cyclists?
Sorry my misread on a draggy
Sorry, my misread on a draggy PC between meetings, I mergered the statement above ordering cyclists with that one
PS the Cycplus Web site has
PS the Cycplus Web site has $499, despite the Google link saying $399.
R200 Smart Trainer
Did you just fall asleep
Did you just fall asleep halfway through typing this?
Generally, I take a pretty
Generally, I take a pretty dim view of ‘what about the other sportswashing teams’ responses to the Isreal issue, but Pello Bilbao of Bahrain-Victorious accusing the UCI of hypocrisy does, shall we say, have a whiff of an extravagant lack of awareness.
As if pro cyclists needed to
As if pro cyclists needed to join the long cohort of useless political activists and impotent politicians. The disruption of a cycling race in Spain, which might have received the unofficial nod of the government, had no impact on the situation in Gaza. One may wonder why Bilboa omitted to mention Hamas and Palestine islamic jihad in his rant.
MaxiMinimalist wrote:
I’m not aware that there’s any such team in the WorldTour.
I raced the WUCA (ultra
I raced the WUCA (ultra-cycling) unsupported World Chamionships this year at the Race Around Poland (3600km so I have seen a bit of the country) and let’s be fair to them: they are the best drivers I have ever encountered when it comes to respect of the cyclists (safety distances, not cutting them). We were of course avoiding most cities but still. This is quite surprising compared to the standards of driving on their highways, catastrophically dangerous IMO. The Porsche driver has a non-British accent but would speak Polish if he were Polish himself. Such a weird way to behave, especially when you are not a local.
Is there a case of
Is there a case of discrimination here from TfL?
When would they, or any other organisation, dare to put out notices saying:
“Drivers must always stop at red lights”??
Maybe when drivers hadn’t
Maybe when drivers hadn’t already passed a test requiring that sort of knowledge in order to be able to drive legally on the road?
I’m joking of course. There does need to be some sort of public information campaign along the lines of “Charley says if a traffic light goes amber and you’ve got time and space to stop safely then you absolutely must”, but sadly Kenny won’t be voicing the cat anymore.
However, if you stand at (say) the junction of London Wall and Old Broad St you might see a few drivers sneaking through on red, and you will see a lot going on the “A” of the “amber”, but I promise you you’ll see many cyclists treating the red lights like give way signs when they’ve been red for a while, and a bit later in the evening you’ll see food delivery riders on modified e-bikes going through red lights without even really slowing down. It’s the latter that upsets pedestrians (and drivers) and TfL have to acknowledge that problem otherwise lecturing drivers on how to be considerate just leads to whataboutery.
Cyclists must always stop at
Cyclists must always stop at red lights. Follow the rules
Says TfL- but it doesn’t apply to motorists. Rendel claims the Met. has told him that they won’t take any action against drivers unless they cross the Stop line 3 seconds or more after they turned red. Surely, there should be an identical amnesty for cyclists? That’s a really long time where red lights are concerned- the motorhome below goes through at about 1.6 seconds. Lancashire Constabulary refuses to take any action against RLJ-ing drivers ‘because everybody does it’
https://upride.cc/incident/kn13aus_knausmotorhome_doubleredlightpass/
https://upride.cc/incident/a15tjv_bmwm4_redlightpass/ etc. etc.
“… the motorhome driver
“… the motorhome driver below…”
That’s a rich coming from a
That’s a rich coming from a rider for Bahrain Victorius.