Astana pro shows off some of the worst road rash we’ve seen; “Hardest day of racing of my life”: Giro d’Italia peloton unimpressed by miserable stage 10 (+ S11 updates); Soudal Quick-Step lose FOUR more riders to Covid positives + more on the live blog

43 thoughts on “Astana pro shows off some of the worst road rash we’ve seen; “Hardest day of racing of my life”: Giro d’Italia peloton unimpressed by miserable stage 10 (+ S11 updates); Soudal Quick-Step lose FOUR more riders to Covid positives + more on the live blog”

1. When I heard Remco was out, I
   When I heard Remco was out, I flashed to that photo of them all in the helicopter transfer & thought it’s surely just a matter of time for others to start dropping.

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   • Exactly. Seemed inevitable

     Exactly. Seemed inevitable that it would spread around everyone taking part eventually.

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   • Why don’t the race organisers

     Why don’t the race organisers and teams simply pretend it isn’t happening and put the long term health of the racers at risk in order to maintain profits? It seems to be the approach the government is taking. 

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     • Patrick9-32 wrote:

       Why don’t the race organisers and teams simply pretend it isn’t happening and put the long term health of the racers at risk in order to maintain profits? It seems to be the approach the government is taking. 

       — Patrick9-32

       Sounds like the UCI’s attitude to EPO, once upon a time.

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     • What would you be doing
       What would you be doing differently now, from a COVID perspective, if you were in power?

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       • Continuing to monitor and

         Continuing to monitor and publish information about the ongoing pandemic would be a good start. 

         When they stopped reporting the figures more people were dying of covid every month than are killed on UK roads every year and that number wasn’t dropping. Is the situation getting worse? It feels like there are a lot more people who are ill at the moment but we, the public can’t make informed decisions about our own health because the tories don’t like the optics of there being 70-100 people a day dying due to their inaction. 

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         • What action would you be
           What action would you be taking?

           People die of respiratory infections all the time. We don’t publish the same information about Influenza, for example, and that kills 10s of thousands per year.

           COVID is now just another endemic respiratory virus. There’s no good reason to treat it any differently from the multiple endemic respiratory viruses that preceded it.

           https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1676118/

         • Actually, flu figures are

           Actually, flu figures are published (not on a daily or weekly basis granted) and on average there are around 11,000 flu related deaths a year. Certainly more action could have been taken earlier at the Giro (it’s not as if we don’t know that it would do what Covid does – spread fast in close contact).

         • I think flu figures are

           I think flu figures are published weekly: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2022-to-2023-season 

         • OnYerBike wrote:

           I think flu figures are published weekly: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2022-to-2023-season 

           — OnYerBike

            

             In your tory reactionary face Rich_CB

         • Secret_squirrel wrote:

            

             In your tory reactionary face Rich_CB

           — Secret_squirrel

           Steady on! It’s not nice to call people names like “tory”

         • Also, does that link not show

           Also, does that link not show that in fact the info is being published for both flu and covid?

         • quiff wrote:

           Also, does that link not show that in fact the info is being published for both flu and covid?

           — quiff

           It does show Covid data, that’s good to see, I hadn’t be able to find that information so I appreciate OnYerBike for sharing that link and take back what I said about the gov not publishing the data, they have just changed where it is stored. 

         • Patrick9-32 wrote:

           Also, does that link not show that in fact the info is being published for both flu and covid?

           — Patrick9-32

           It does show Covid data, that’s good to see, I hadn’t be able to find that information so I appreciate OnYerBike for sharing that link and take back what I said about the gov not publishing the data, they have just changed where it is stored. 

           — quiff

           Basement, no stairs, no light, locked filing cabinet, ‘Beware of the leopard’…

         • I did the enjoy the hand
           I did the enjoy the hand wringing on another thread recently about how people shouldn’t say mean things about cyclists.

           A certain Mr Pot was not very happy at all with some of the language being used by Mr Kettle.

         • Secret_squirrel wrote:

             In your tory reactionary face Rich_CB

           — Secret_squirrel

           a) bit sad and b) not sure why you think this is some rebuttal to what rich_cb has posted?

           I’m not convinced yet we should sweep covid under the carpet.  However many people of all political persuations want to do so – and not just those in public office (especially government) who themselves broke rules / used this to their own advantage, or contrarians who think this was a conspiracy.

           I think it’s fair to ask questions e.g.:
           – What’s the evidence the current strains are much worse / different from the existing collection of endemic viruses of this kind?  Why should this one get special treatment?  It seems there may be such evidence (others have posted some) but asking is reasonable.

           – What can we do about it?  If there genuinely is nothing we can usefully do then you need to explain the point of collecting numbers.  Again I’m not yet persuaded there is nothing we can do and that we should “let nature take its course” (even now).  It’s a question though and reasonable to ask about evidence of risk / effectiveness for interventions plus cost / benefit.

           Of course the last question is about political choices.  Beyond just the medical effects of virus and andy vaccine / treatment e.g. the effect of choices on mental health / health service / economy / society…

           * The evidence we know now – not “I knew x before everyone else did so you’re all stupid”.

         • chrisonatrike wrote:

           – What can we do about it?  If there genuinely is nothing we can usefully do then you need to explain the point of collecting numbers.  Again I’m not yet persuaded there is nothing we can do and that we should “let nature take its course” (even now).  It’s a question though and reasonable to ask about evidence of risk / effectiveness for interventions plus cost / benefit.

           — chrisonatrike

           I disagree about that. Even if there’s nothing we can do about an issue today, there’s value in collecting numbers to see how big a problem it is and how much energy we should put into trying to find solutions. When you don’t have numbers, it allows politicians to deny that the issue even exists (c.f. AIDS epidemic).

         • hawkinspeter wrote:

           I disagree about that. Even if there’s nothing we can do about an issue today, there’s value in collecting numbers to see how big a problem it is and how much energy we should put into trying to find solutions. When you don’t have numbers, it allows politicians to deny that the issue even exists (c.f. AIDS epidemic).

           — hawkinspeter

           Not quite sure how strong the link is between politicians caring and size of numbers – unless they’re expressed in currency or (positive) voters…

           For this one, unlike AIDS (and lots of fairly common yet neglected conditions) it is very salient for most people.  And it seems we are recording the numbers – which I agree is a good thing – if presented with what we’ve determined to be “like conditions”.

         • Argues for COVID and
           Argues for COVID and Influenza to be treated the same.

           Link shows COVID and Influenza being treated the same.

           Secret_squirrel: In your face!

         • Supporting a bedwetter is a

           Supporting a bedwetter is a win for you? Ok then

         • That’s what I was referring
           That’s what I was referring to, the daily updates and associated media hysteria.

           COVID should be treated just like other endemic viruses.

         • Burn the witch! Begone Rich

           Burn the witch! Begone Rich_cb and your conspiracy theories which are now just uncomfortable truths. 

           Surely we can ban your misinformation? 

         • It’s really not ‘just another

           It’s really not ‘just another endemic respiratory virus’. Covid-19 has whole body effects, notably on the brain and heart, that we don’t yet fully understand. It kills about 3 times as many infected people as influenza does worldwide and in the UK. Repeat infections have cumulative effects that are bad.

           I want to get on with my life just like anyone else, but pretending a problem doesn’t exist, or that its not as bad as it is, is just ‘copium’.

         • You can’t use data from 2020
           You can’t use data from 2020 when COVID was an entirely novel virus coming into contact with an entirely naïve population to justify actions in 2023 when COVID is an endemic virus that the vast majority of the population have already been exposed to.

           The morbidity and mortality burden is dramatically different. COVID in 2023 is not much different to other endemic respiratory viruses in those terms.

           As others have pointed out, post viral inflammation is not a phenomenon unique to COVID, that we should see high rates of this after a novel virus with rapid spread is not unexpected.

           Influenza barely gets any media coverage at all unless an outbreak is particularly bad despite 10s of thousands of deaths annually. COVID should be treated in exactly the same way.

         • Is it time for your next

           Is it time for your next booster? 

     • Isn’t “being a bit bored with

       Isn’t “being a bit bored with it now” adequate protection?

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2. Ineos might just be able to

   Ineos might just be able to win this one. 

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   • At the rate they’re

     At the rate they’re withdrawing, Pee Wee Herman could come in as a late entry and win.

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     • Quote:

       Pee Wee Herman could come in as a late entry

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       • Yep: that was the scene I was

         Yep: that was the scene I was thinking of! 😉

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       • I didn’t realise that Elia

         I didn’t realise that Elia Viviani was in this year’s Giro.

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3. feels like a warning to all

   feels like a warning to all of us to reconsider our already undertaken full return to ‘normal’ behaviour – in university we’ve been operating completely as if it were mid 2019.

   Someone noted yesterday that there may be more covid withdrawals then when we were in the pandemic. 

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   • Global Nomad wrote:

     feels like a warning to all of us to reconsider our already undertaken full return to ‘normal’ behaviour – in university we’ve been operating completely as if it were mid 2019.

     Someone noted yesterday that there may be more covid withdrawals then when we were in the pandemic. 

     — Global Nomad

     Ssssh!  Don’t let Paul J hear you say that! 😉

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     • Why are my ears burning?
       Why are my ears burning? 🙂

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       • (No subject)

         

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4. Stumbled across this on
   Stumbled across this on YouTube yesterday; somebody converted an Aethos to integrated cabling, whole build inc pedals and bottle cage <5.5kg!

   Most of the components were off the shelf too. I was seriously impressed.

   https://youtu.be/NsgI6M5TXss

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   • I’d love to ride that bike,

     I’d love to ride that bike, especially if I had a mechanic to deal with the integrated cables etc.

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     • They’re just integrated brake
       They’re just integrated brake hoses.

       Doubt they’d need replacing very often, if ever.

       With AXS I don’t really seen any downside at all to a fully integrated front end.

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   • Such a great build, thanks

     Such a great build, thanks for posting that. 

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5. That Oxford road closed sign

   That Oxford road closed sign is excellent as long as it is consistently used. I tend to think that I can get off and walk if needs be when I see a road closed sign and I don’t fancy the diversion, but I do remember once coming across a 2m deep trench the full width of the road and extending either side into the ditches. At this point I did admit defeat and find an alternative route.

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   • Same, it’s rare but not
     Same, it’s rare but not unheard of for roads to be completely impassable. I think I’ve been forced back at least a couple of times and once headed cross country through a kissing gate. On some occasions if the crew is on site I have blagged my way through.
     If the sign said except pedestrians I’m more than happy to walk for a bit.

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     • Went down a closed road last

       Went down a closed road last year. Waved through by the workers. About half a mile later there was a big fence across the road and the ditches either side. With the help of other cyclists and a local, we moved a fence enough to get through along a ditch and then put it back. That wasn’t in the road workers’ script…

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6. Borrocks to all this Giro;

   Borrocks to all this Giro; the real hard mans race is the Ras… congratulations to Conner McGoldrick of Richardsons-Trek on winning stage 1, taking the leaders jersey and King of the Hill jersey along the way!

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