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
SUMMARY
Soudal Quick-Step lose FOUR more riders to Covid positives — down to three riders for rest of the Giro
Erm guys, we might have a problem…
Our team is disappointed to announce that four more riders from its #Giro squad have tested positive for Covid-19 and will leave the race.
Read more about it, here: https://t.co/PdOfCZ7QTI
Photo: @GettySport pic.twitter.com/rI4tN6EOy2
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) May 17, 2023
Following on from their team leader’s Covid positive on Sunday, a further round of testing for the entire Soudal Quick-Step team and staff resulted in Jan Hirt, Josef Cerny, Louis Vervaeke and Mattia Cattaneo all testing positive.
By my very basic maths, that leaves them with THREE riders for the remaining week and a half… Davide Ballerini, Pieter Serry, Ilan Van Wilder… good luck, fellas…
Team doctor Toon Cruyt said: “After the positive of Remco on Sunday evening, we had two more riders who were feeling unwell on Monday morning, but were negative on antigen tests.
“Therefore a PCR test was carried out on the seven remaining riders, the results of which showed that the four guys were positive. We will continue to monitor and implement our testing protocol on the three riders and staff that remain at the race.”
"Hardest day of racing of my life": Giro d'Italia peloton unimpressed by stage 10 (and that's putting it politely)
A hard day that some riders won’t ever forget 😱
Join the peloton as they tackled one of the toughest stages of the race so far 🥶
Watch the full on-bike highlights on @RoadCode 👇🏼https://t.co/x2yvXy6iuq
______
🇮🇹 #Giro pic.twitter.com/ezA65ayxYU— Velon CC (@VelonCC) May 16, 2023
NOT a fun day to be on the bike riding around Italy…
On Strava, British pro Charlie Quarterman left his review short and snappy… “S***”, Frenchman Alexis Baudin calling it “a day in hell”. His Wahoo measured a low temperature of 1°C atop the 1,500m high point of the stage. Descending that soaked to the core must have been grim…
This giro is mental game 🥵
Just trying to stay on the bike when you are freaking cold
In other races you would abandon but this is the giro!!
The show must go on 🥶🥶🥶💗 pic.twitter.com/EgJCGvRMvL— arne marit (@ArneMarit) May 16, 2023
Team DSM’s Marius Mayrhofer called it “the hardest day of racing of my life”…
“Today was a really extreme stage — really cold and quite bad vision throughout the day. It was the hardest day of racing of my life. We were quite active in the beginning and just missed out on the group,” he said afterwards.
But, it’s not all bad… it probably felt like mid-summer for Cork-born Eddie Dunbar…
Been just like riding back home for the first week here ☔️ At least I’m used to it 👌 Happy to move into the top 10 today. Long way to go #Giro pic.twitter.com/UMYLxn2zIi
— Eddie Dunbar (@EddieDunbar) May 16, 2023
Two more riders abandon with Covid: Andrea Vendrame and Stefano Gandin leave the race
We’re up to six confirmed Covid abandons at the Giro so far this morning, AG2R Citroën and Team Corratec – Selle Italia confirming that Andrea Vendrame and Stefano Gandin will leave the race ahead of stage 11…
Elsewhere on the illness/injury front, it remains to be seen if Warren Barguil can start today, the Frenchman caught up in a crash yesterday, his team saying they will “see according to the evolution of the pain during the night”.
> Giro d’Italia crash chaos as furious Alberto Bettiol taken out by staff member running across road
With another couple of hours until the stage start in Camaiore, we wouldn’t bet on those being the last abandons this morning. In total, 13 riders failed to start or finish yesterday’s stage. We’re already up to six ahead of today’s, just 144 riders left for the second and third week and 32 abandons since last weekend.
DNS list grows to eight as Trek-Segafredo and EF Education-EasyPost lose riders
[📷: RCS]
Two more riders who won’t start today’s stage are Natnael Tesfatsion and Jonathan Caicedo. Trek-Segafredo said Tesfatsion had woken up with flu symptoms, while Caicedo has a “non-COVID viral illness”.
Oxfordshire County Council adapts road closed signs to show when cyclists can still access route
There’s more to life than ‘cyclists dismount’ signs…
With cyclists able to get through many road closures, @OxfordshireCC has now adapted its signs to show when this is permitted and possible.@cycloxoxford @CUKOxfordshire @activetravelcaf @RantyHighwayman pic.twitter.com/AbCluYDaXR
— Oxfordshire Cycling Network (@OxonCyclingNet) May 16, 2023
From the mailbag: An alternative view on the Department for Transport's longer lorries plan
Last week we brought you the news of the DfT’s imminent plan for longer lorries on the UK’s roads. Cycling UK criticised the plan saying it would see cyclists and pedestrians travel near “longer and more hazardous lorries”. Here’s an email from a road.cc reader to add another view to the discussion…
I’m a keen cyclist and also a C+E driver [category of HGV licence] so I sort of know both sides of the story. I read your piece about the longer trailers with interest but also disappointed at the lack of understanding.
These trailers have been on trial for over 11 years now. Because of their length they will almost exclusively be used for ‘trunking’ operations. That is long distance between logistics hubs and industrial estates using mainly motorways and trunk roads.
Greggs will not be using them to deliver to local stores. It’s very unlikely they will ever visit areas with a lot of cyclists or pedestrians. Surely anything that reduces traffic numbers and emissions is a good thing if done safely?
More than just the Giro as the Rás Tailteann gets underway
BIG day for Irish bike racing… the 70th anniversary Rás is go…
3..2..1 and we’re OFF! Ràs Tailteann 2023 is officially underway as we set off towards Birr! 🚂
Who’s your pick for this years race?? #Rás2023 pic.twitter.com/3hGbeBphKS
— Rás Tailteann (@rastailteann) May 17, 2023
Last month Ryan spoke to race director Gerard Campbell on keeping Ireland’s biggest race alive, ‘difficult second album syndrome’, and why some races just mean more. Check out the podcast episode here…
If you prefer to read your news, or just need to keep things on the sly at your desk, here’s Ryan’s feature on last year’s edition…
"You know a cycle lane's too narrow when the road markers look more like a part-folded Brompton"
You know a cycle lane’s too narrow when the road markers look more like a part-folded @BromptonBicycle #cycling pic.twitter.com/UhgnVl0ust
— PassPixi (@PassPixi) May 17, 2023
And not even a £25,000 Brompton either…
Should Remco head to the Tour de France? Philippe Gilbert thinks not, while Patrick Lefevere says it's too soon to discuss
[📷: Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
Now three days on from Remco Evenepoel’s shock abandon from the Giro d’Italia, the talk has already turned to where the world champion might appear next, and if a Tour de France debut or Vuelta defence could now be on the cards.
One former rider who does not think his compatriot should go to the Tour is Philippe Gilbert who believes a defence of his rainbow jersey in Scotland in August would be the wiser move.
“Remco should not go to the Tour de France,” he said. “I would restart at the Tour of Belgium [on June 14] and the Belgian time trial championship [June 22]. I would then go two or three weeks in altitude to prepare the second part of the season. I would start again at the Tour de Wallonie [July 22] which is the best preparation for San Sebastian [July 29] – and the ideal preparation for the World Championships.
> Check out Remco Evenepoel’s Specialized S-Works Shiv TT
“We know that he wants to double. He wants to win the time trial [world championship], we know that is his big goal. I was in the room with him when he finished second in England [Yorkshire 2019]. It was a big disappointment for him. Being a time trial world champion is very important for him. He could double with the road race with the right preparation.”
One man who doesn’t want to speculate on the remainder of Remco’s season is Patrick Lefevere, the team’s boss saying he is “not going to talk” about the Tour or the Vuelta.
“Once he has recovered and once he has digested his disappointment, we’ll sit down around a table and draw up a programme,” Lefevere said. “The Tour team has not been decided yet, except for a few names. The whole team around Remco is currently still at the Giro. He’ll recover first and then we’ll sit down together quietly, with Remco’s father too. If Remco calls and says, ‘I absolutely want to go to the Tour,’ then it’s something else. But he’s not going to do that.”
Tao Geoghegan Hart out of Giro d’Italia after shocking crash which also brought down Geraint Thomas and Primož Roglič
Pascal Ackermann wins Giro d'Italia stage 11, Mark Cavendish posts best result yet in third
Just for a second or two it looked like it might be Cav’s first win of the Giro, then came the power of stage winner Pascal Ackermann and Jonathan Milan…
Pascal Ackermann wins Stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia by the finest of margins 🤏 pic.twitter.com/7DWH7fShIa
— Eurosport (@eurosport) May 17, 2023
The German seemed pretty confident he’d won it, perhaps a smidge too confident seeing how tight that finish was, although I’m sure few would begrudge the UAE sprinter a win after a few tough years…
And yes, you can tell me that winning the stage is all that matters, but Milan’s performance was even more impressive than the winner’s, the Italian launching a track-honed 400m sprint from well back, passing multiple riders in an extraordinary display of strengh. Of course positioning matters too, but the Bahrain big man has attracted some enviable comparisons after that…
This Jonathan Milan reminds of a young Marcel Kittel. Real powerhouse.
— Thomas De Gendt (@DeGendtThomas) May 17, 2023
The Giro just avoids Italy’s deadly floods – but cycling is now feeling impact of climate change
> The Giro just avoids Italy’s deadly floods – but cycling is now feeling impact of climate change
Comment of the day
That’ll teach him to ride naked…
— LastBoyScout (@LiquidMusketeer) May 17, 2023
Or perhaps not to not ride naked…
Astana pro shows off some of the worst road rash we've seen
This one will stir up bad memories for some of you I’m sure, not least that grim unable to sleep midnight discomfort as you try desperately to awkwardly lie on anything but your stinging, bruised body…
🇫🇷 RACE: @4JDDunkerque
Gleb Syritsa banged-up all over the body but he is a strong fighter. Heal well, Gleb!#4jdd #AstanaQazaqstanTeam pic.twitter.com/SFoVVzvtsP
— Astana Qazaqstan Team (@AstanaQazTeam) May 16, 2023
As for the shower… can’t tell you how relieved I am to have not *touch wood* fallen off of late…
So, no shower and sleep standing up.
— Sharon H (@TrixieBelden_) May 17, 2023
Syrista was one of many riders to fall on yesterday’s first stage of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque and sadly, but probably quite sensibly did not start today’s second stage. We’ll leave the comparisons to a certain round-ball sport’s athletes to the replies…
17 May 2023, 07:49
17 May 2023, 07:49
17 May 2023, 07:49
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Latest Comments
@Surreyrider Still the boss. Ride one, you'll see why
@Smoggysteve "Most would happily ride on the roads and be treated with respect by drivers". But people aren't - and as far as I can see they won't be. Not until there is a lot less driving and it's slower around cyclists, and far more people driving have "skin in the game" eg. they sometimes cycle and their friends and family do also. That's what leads to the model - which is perhaps most advanced in NL - where cycling, walking and driving are all seen as separate normal transport modes. Their needs, vulnerabilities and any dangers to others are considered. And *that* leads to "mix / share when possible, separate when necessary". But "possible" is "where your 10-year old would be safe to cycle unsupervised" - so very few motor vehicles, going slow! And AFAICS everybody - even "existing cyclists" - is happy with the result. (I dunno about a few pro cyclists - but don't they tend to have training camps in different counties anyway?)
@quiff as an Edinburgh resident I can confidently say he's speaking without moving his lips in one sense: - while as I noted in a separate comment there *is* now some real separated cycle infra, all the examples i can think of have *at least as much space* for pedestrians. The rest of the "cycle infra" is essentially similar to the situation in the rest of the UK: eg. bus lanes*, cycle lanes and shared use paths (eg. "build" infra by sticking up a sign). Edinburgh is one of the places with a moderately extensive network of former railways which have been converted to "shared use" paths (completely motor traffic few). However though shared they are not narrow by UK standards. And this is all effectively a "free extra" for all non- motorised users, not like the "sign a cycle path" where pedestrians do lose space. I think this all comes from the "popular understanding" of cycling in which ultimately cyclists are the "other". They don't fit "motor vehicle" or "pedestrian" (including wheelchairs on the very rare occasions people think about that). Thus "cyclists are cheating" in multiple ways! They shouldn't get their own space as "there aren't enough" of them. And "they can just use the road / path". But being able to *choose* "on the road" or "on the footway" (shared use path) is clearly unfair - nobody else gets to do that! BUT of course even if they did pick just one of road OR pedestrian space it's still not fair anyway because they're "too slow" for the road (don't pay "road tax" etc...) and "far too fast" for pedestrians... * Though some existing cyclists may appreciate them when there are few buses, buses and bikes are a very poor mix for several reasons.
Whilst a shame for any employees, their bib shorts had the worst chamois pad I’d ever encountered, utter waste of my money. Even though they were Strava challenge discount purchases, still a waste of money.
Thanks, just going to have to suck it up. Got next week off and will take the easy, if expensive option...
@ktache Just go for the TNT Sports only package, £30.99 for a month. Alternatively have you considered experimenting with a VPN for a few pounds, allowing you to sign up for a free stream abroad, e.g. SBS Australia which streams the Tour live? If I didn't have a kind mate's login that's what I'd do!
So, it's now the month of July and I'm going to have to pay to watch the TdF, for one month only. On a tablet unfortunately, as I didn't manage to get a laptop to rig up to the TV, grrr. Just wondering, what package will I have to fork out for? Not wanting to pay for the wrong one...
Not that it sounds like a dealbreaker given the other faults you've identified, but that cable isn't really a "proprietary" cable, four pin magnetic cables like that are quite common on bone-conducting headphones and other devices (my inexpensive smartwatch uses one) and they can be had for £4.99 on UK Amazon.
There was never really anything to say about le col kit. Most of it was alright. Some of it was poorly designed/made. Trying to position yourself as a Rapha competitor whilst always offering 40% or more off doesn't scream premium though.
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”
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.
Exactly. Seemed inevitable
Exactly. Seemed inevitable that it would spread around everyone taking part eventually.
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.
Patrick9-32 wrote:
Sounds like the UCI’s attitude to EPO, once upon a time.
What would you be doing
What would you be doing differently now, from a COVID perspective, if you were in power?
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.
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:
Secret_squirrel wrote:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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?
Ineos might just be able to
Ineos might just be able to win this one.
At the rate they’re
At the rate they’re withdrawing, Pee Wee Herman could come in as a late entry and win.
Quote:
Yep: that was the scene I was
Yep: that was the scene I was thinking of! 😉
I didn’t realise that Elia
I didn’t realise that Elia Viviani was in this year’s Giro.
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.
Global Nomad wrote:
Ssssh! Don’t let Paul J hear you say that! 😉
Why are my ears burning?
Why are my ears burning? 🙂
(No subject)
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
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.
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.
Such a great build, thanks
Such a great build, thanks for posting that.
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.
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.
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…
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!